Grieving Together
Dear Church,
Many of us were shocked, this week, by news of the Rev. Bobbi Virta’s death. Like many of you, Bobbi has been a colleague, a friend, and an inspiration to us for all our years of ministry here in Bellingham, and we know her loss will echo deeply in the coming months and years. Bobbi joined our congregation again just recently, and part of our sadness is not having a couple more decades to pray and play and laugh with her in the sweet work of congregational life together.
Maybe you were super close to Bobbi, and maybe you didn’t know her very well. We want to remind you: it’s okay if this news greatly shook you, and it’s okay if it didn’t. Grief and tragedy hit us all in different ways, and at different times, and that’s healthy and human. We’ve also been touched to hear people reach out to one another with prayers, with calls, with cards in this season. Those needs will continue, and we know that love will continue as well.
As you may have heard, Bobbi’s Celebration of Life will be at First Congregational Church of Bellingham on Saturday, February 18 at 4:00 pm. If you’re available to volunteer and support the service, please reach out to Carol Garguile—she’s tracking the need for ushers, hospitality/kitchen support, etc. We are anticipating a large crowd of folks who want to mourn and celebrate together, so if you’re able to carpool, bike, walk, or take the bus to church that day that will be helpful; you might also consider parking at Trinity Lutheran Church (across the street), as they have generously given us permission that day. And if you’d like to join by zoom, please do so. The Zoom link is in the Friday Announcement email, or you can email the office.
And just a few words about grieving: as you probably know, (but even the clergy of us need to be reminded), grief will come in different forms at different times. Sometimes we’ll feel shocked, sometimes grateful, sometimes angry, sometimes depressed. All of those are normal and human. A sudden death can also intensify other grief you’re experiencing around a diagnosis, a relationship, or other loss. One of the kind things we can do for ourselves is to reach out to one another: to tell stories together, to sing songs together, to remember and pray together. We’ll do that at Saturday’s Celebration of Life, but that tender work will continue in the months and years to come.
It's maybe impossible to summarize all that Bobbi brought to this congregation, to this denomination, to this wider community. But we can be witnesses to those blessings, and we can, with Bobbi, let love be our legacy.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your pastors in this season if you’d like support or prayer—the 24/7 prayer line is always at the top of this Midweek Message. It is a difficult gift, but still a gift, to be with you in this season.
Love,
Davi & Sharon
