Today at 11 AM at Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church, Saint Petersburg, FL, the family and friends of Lula Mae Mathews gathered for a service of love & memory. The family was represented by about 50 people (men, women, youth, and children) who all sat in a reserved section (except for Jerome Mathews, her son, who sat on the same pew down from Kathy (my wife) and me. Other than family, there were approximately 100 people in attendance. The service lasted until about 2 PM. The service included gospel music, prayers, poems, a testimonial by Niki (Lula’s grown grandchild) who challenged us to overcome divisions, scripture reading by Jerome, eulogies and recollections (some 10 people from the congregation participated before the pastor had to limit this part of the service—one eulogy was given by her mother and one was given by her son, Jimmy), a sermon by Pastor Warren (and a closing alter call). It was a celebration of the life of Lula and a time of remembrance, grief and healing for family and friends. Often unconditional love was celebrated.
In his sermon Pastor Warren asked us to think of the most pertinent question we could think of. He said that there would probably be a variety of answers. But the most pertinent question is who do you place your ultimate trust in, who do you worship, the Almighty God. It brought several verses to mind, but foremost it reminded me of this: “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). In short, the question is raised--are we following the will of God now and throughout our lives? There was an alter call after the sermon and several came forward to give their lives to Christ. All that came forward were women. The preacher noted that it is harder for men who sometimes think they would appear less as men (less macho) for showing a need for Christ.
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