Farewell Brother Bennie

Some of you will remember that in October 2008 one of my class mates had a stroke that left him in hospital since then. His name was Bennie Hill. In January Bennie died after a long journey. On Tuesday evening at 7PM our class held a memorial service for our brother Bennie. It was a very touching service. We sang three of his favorite hymns and used the same scripture readings from his original memorial service. His daughters and son were present along with some of Bennie’s grandchildren. We provided some time for people to talk about who Bennie was for them and both daughters and son spoke about what it was like to have Bennie as their father. One of my class mates gave an incredible sermon. We used a hymn from More Voices “Cradle Me in Your Arms” as a response to the gospel reading that was one of Bennie’s favorite gospel lessons. The next day we also received golden stretchy bracelets with the words Rev. Bennie Hill ACTS Class of 2011. As a class we’ve chosen to wear these bracelets for the three weeks of our residency as a way of keeping Bennie with us. It was a difficult service for me and my class mates. A little less than a year ago we stood in a circle on the last day of residency and prayed that we would all return one year later. It was an emotional time of prayer filled with tears and smiles. Likewise this service was filled with tears and smiles as we grappled with Bennie’s absence.
It’s very different to be on the other side of a memorial service and to a certain degree I think I’d forgotten what it was like. Bennie’s was a good reminder and refresher of how important it is to celebrate the lives of those we know and love in a way that is honourable and respectful, authentic and rooted in the hope of the gospel. While a difficult service it was wonderful and acknowledged Bennie’s return to his Creator in a manner that was true to him and who he was. Farewell Brother Bennie.