The Menno church has had a long tradition of strong women -- not necessarily "stand up in front of the group and run things" women, but the kind of never-out-of-fashion women who saw what needed to be done and did it, took care of each other, raised children that learned to know the Lord and how to do service. The ladies at Menno were the kind of women I wanted my daughters to grow up to be. And it make my heart sing when I hear the ladies talk about Mary Mae and Dawn as some of the "Young Strong Menno Women!"
It was bittersweet to gather for lunch in Moses Lake today to say a formal farewell to Clara who, with her husband Walt, is moving to Kansas next month (they will be close to their son Roger and his family there). Clara has been one of those people you can always count on to have things organized and ready to go. She has been the project director for the Menno Women in Mission for over 23 years -- I wonder how many quilts they've pieced, tied and hand quilted during those years? Before she retired, Clara had worked as the librarian in the Lind School District. I was quite surprised to hear her say today that she had been retired for over twenty years!
When we are "home" at Menno, we always sit on the far left side of the church, on the other end of the pew that Walt and Clara sit in. It's going to feel very strange to walk into the church and not have them there.
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