{"id":920,"date":"2024-04-22T16:26:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T23:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/?p=920"},"modified":"2024-04-22T16:27:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T23:27:44","slug":"920","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/?p=920","title":{"rendered":"Sara Elizabeth Foster Memorial Service April 16, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sara Elizabeth Foster<\/h2>\n

June 19, 1959 – \"\"Feb 5, 2024<\/h2>\n

Faith Episcopal Church, April 16, 2024<\/h2>\n

Dear Friends and family, we are gathered today to give thanks for the life of our sister Sara.\u00a0 She left us too soon and we wish heartily that the cancer could have been cured and that she would have enjoyed more time with us.\u00a0 She wanted to build a home, continue to raise her sheep, travel abroad, read and study and enjoy the fellowship of the communities of faith that gather in this space.<\/p>\n

Sara had a bright mind and a fighting spirit.\u00a0 She was indispensable and highly valued at the law firm where she worked for decades.\u00a0 After her traumatic brain injury, she traveled to Hawaii to become a licensed cranio-sacral massage therapist.\u00a0 Along the way she raised sheep for both wool and meat.\u00a0 She loved turtles.\u00a0 As recently as last December she fashioned a beautiful swag of evergreen branches to decorate her home for Christmas.\u00a0 She enjoyed watching the children of the church run around and play.<\/p>\n

Illness took its toll, but people drove her to church and she graced the back pew in front of the choir week after week.\u00a0 We were sad on the days she didn\u2019t feel well and welcomed the days that were better.<\/p>\n

The Gospel-writer Matthew remembered Jesus\u2019 word about worry.\u00a0 We were not to worry about food or clothing, but rather to seek the kingdom of God.\u00a0 In many ways, Sara lived those words.\u00a0 Now it is our turn to take them to heart.\u00a0 Sara left some of you a great deal of work, cleaning out the house she lived in, figuring out where to go with books and papers.\u00a0 But, as that work eventually comes to an end, I hope you will \u2013 I hope all of us will — seek the path of life, the path of love, the path of goodness, mercy, grace and peace.\u00a0 These words describe what Matthew called the \u201ckingdom of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

By ourselves we miss the mark, we are not able to perfectly follow the example of Christ, who walked that path of life, love, grace and peace.\u00a0 But by God\u2019s grace we support one another in our attempts.\u00a0 We pray for one another when we know one another\u2019s suffering.\u00a0 We remind one another that God\u2019s love is sufficient, that our faults and missteps can be forgiven.<\/p>\n

Today, let us give thanks for Sara\u2019s time with us.\u00a0 Let us tell stories and share memories. And let us comfort one another with kind words.\u00a0 We have begun to live the new normal of life without Sara. May her memory be for a blessing to each of us.<\/p>\n

Now she rests, a sheep of Jesus\u2019 flock.\u00a0 He called himself a Good Shepherd, one who knows his sheep and cares for them.\u00a0 They also know him.\u00a0 Sara would understand and like that image.\u00a0 May we hear his voice and follow where he leads.<\/p>\n

Blessings to you, today and always.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sara Elizabeth Foster June 19, 1959 – Feb 5, 2024 Faith Episcopal Church, April 16, 2024 Dear Friends and family, we are gathered today to give thanks for the life of our sister Sara.\u00a0 She left us too soon and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=920"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":926,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions\/926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}