Erl Purnell Sermon

John Arthur Crowe Funeral Service ~ May 25, 2007 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

Ecclesiastes 3.1-8; Psalm 23; Matthew 6.25-33

Back in the late 1960s, John Crowe came to the mud hole in Collinsville for a summer swim. There, he met Janice. In time they married and, as Janice has said, “they stuck together pretty good for 41 years.”

John didn’t worship at Old St. Andrew’s and I never had the chance to meet him. It’s not because he didn’t believe in God. For John, God wasn’t stuck in a building. Rather, John found his spirituality in God’s presence in the beauty of nature. If John’s nurturing of flowers and plants is any indication, he was indeed very close to his God. For, anybody who is a co-creator of beauty as John was is certainly filled with the divine.

Of course, like most of us, there were lots of pieces to John’s life: his long association with Alvin & Company, for example. Ever wonder why his CB handle was Chipmunk? It was inspired by “Alvin and the Chipmunks”. Or, his love of country music, the radio clubs he belonged to (the Jolly Rogers’ Club and the Sandbaggers Club), and the stock car races. How many trips to the races do you suppose John and Janice made over the years?

And when John got sick in July of 2005, he fought on with chemo and radiation. You all know the sort of man he was.

Today, we celebrate a life lived and a love lived. John Crowe’s spirit continues in the mystery of the resurrection. He will be missed and missed. Godspeed John. Godspeed.

Amen.