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The new rector at All Saints Episcopal Church in Corpus Christi thought he had met all the members of his church. But when he arrived to help set up for the annual rummage sale, which raises funds for several charitable projects, there was a couple there he didn’t know. They had arrived before he did. They were both working hard, not just standing around chatting.
“Who are these people?” he asked someone. “Are they church members I haven’t met yet?” No, came the reply. They were not church members. But they were friends of some church members and every year they showed up to help out at the rummage sale.
That couple were Diane, a cousin of Jan’s, and her husband Cray. The rector told that story a few days ago at Cray’s memorial service. It was a fitting story to tell. That’s who Cray was: someone who showed up to help.
Cray was a retired professional firefighter and EMT. His job was showing up to help, often in very difficult circumstances. As his daughter said at the memorial service, no one really knows how many lives he may have saved. But he also volunteered regularly for a number of organizations and projects.
I did not know Cray well. Usually, I’d see him just once a year, at the extended- family Thanksgiving dinners. During dinner, Cray was always at the table, chatting with all the rest of us. After dinner, however, Cray would disappear. By the time I eventually left the table and wandered into the kitchen, I’d find that Cray had already tidied up the kitchen and was well on his way to washing all the dishes. This was not at his own house, mind you. This was at his wife’s aunt’s house.
That’s who Cray was. That is how I will remember him. He was someone who showed up to help.
I think of the quote, often attributed to John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
May we all be people who show up to help.
--by Bill
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