Today's Recap

Today in its entirety was spent planning Evan North's Memorial Service. It will be held on the campus of Georgetown University not this Saturday, but next. The family wishes to keep to one service for now, rather than have a separate Quaker one, but it will nonetheless feature elements of Quaker worship. I've been in contact with Evan's mother, cousin, and a Catholic priest who is spearheading the effort. His family has been remarkably helpful and gracious, especially under such horrible circumstances.

As a co-clerk of Friends Meeting of Washington's Young Adult Friends group, it is my responsibility to do this. And, as a member of Ministry and Worship, I also am obligated to help arrange the Memorial Service. The unofficial rule of Ministry and Worship is that if you know the deceased, the task then becomes your primary responsibility. I've accomplished a good bit today, and shouldn't have quite as much to do tomorrow. I want to do this for him and his family, but the work is also a constant reminder that Evan is no longer with us. Still, I am sure that I have done the very best job I could.

I received the nicest compliment ever from Evan's mother. Yesterday afternoon, to let the rest of the Meeting know, I wrote a brief eulogy of his life and what he meant to us. His mother was finally able to read it and, in an e-mail, let me know how touched she was. This is why I've worked so hard putting everything together. Comments like these make me understand why people work together in times of crisis. I hope I am worthy of her praise.

We Young Adult Friends who knew him best are meeting for silent worship tomorrow evening. It will be good to see everyone in person who I have not seen since we learned the news. To the best of my knowledge, everyone is coping well. I'm fairly certain we will have a healthy turnout. Tragedies like these are inexplicable and unfathomable, but it is for us the living to carry on. My foremost prayer is that this will bring us closer together.