A Sad Day

Thursday 10th July 2014 was a sad day - a day that brought a double dose of sad news and it left me feeling very low indeed.  Firstly, I learned of the sudden death of my friend Ian Southall.  It was a friendship born via social media, that brought great encouragement.  Ian was a fellow local preacher, organist, singer, musician, and had a real enthusiasm for life, as well as an amazing sense of humour. As a Connexional Assessor for the Faith and Worship Course, Ian brought a wealth of experience and much encouragement to the Facebook Group for Methodist Local Preachers in training who were working their way through the units.  Not everyone found the going easy, but Ian was always there to help people through.

More recently, Ian and I enjoyed chatting online and we shared many a happy hour putting the world to right, sharing thoughts, ideas, news and best fun of all - good humour.  As I struggled my way through the final units, Ian provided some quality light relief.  My husband Peter and I had the great pleasure of meeting Ian in London at the end of April and it was wonderful to meet face to face.

As I faced the final hurdles in my training, Ian was there to stop the panic setting in.  Waiting for the results of Section D felt like a lifetime, and when they came on Wesley Day as I sat in the Museum of Methodism, it was a joy to share the good news with Ian.  As I travelled for my final interview at the local preachers' meeting, Ian was texting words of encouragement and waited by his computer for news of the outcome.  We were counting the days until my accreditation on 20th July with real joy.

I will miss you Ian, you were a real God-send.  Someone who spent so much of your time serving your Lord and bringing God's love to so many people.  You were a joy to know and a treasured friend, even though we only managed one brief meeting.

Thoughts and prayers are with Ian's wife Shirley and his family - it's hard to contemplate life without someone like Ian - I know because I've lost special people in my own family, but the happy memories will live on and the pain will get easier to bear.

Losing friends like Ian, and my other friend Vera who passed away on Tuesday, is hard.  Hearing about both on the same day was really painful.  I will miss both of them and will always remember them.