Dear friends,

Last Saturday I heard the sad news that my father-in-law, Peter Lawson, had passed away. He was 96 years old. Last year my wife and I, along with several generations of family, attended his 95th birthday party. I wrote a short meditation about the occasion which I share with you now.  

In the book of Genesis, God established a covenant with Abraham to make him the ancestor “of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5). God promised to be with Abraham’s descendants forever, “throughout the generations.” This passage came to mind in 2024 as my wife and I travelled to Petaluma, California for my father-in-law’s ninety-fifth birthday party.

From north, south and east, all came to join the celebration. Several generations were present, including one yet to be born, expected in June. There were dinners on Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as lunch and dinner on Sunday. One of the newest family members—a fiancé of one of the family—remarked that the whole event felt like an Irish wedding (he used to live in Dublin) and that, of course, meant plenty of socializing.

On Sunday the reception hall was made ready for my father-in-law and his wife. The tables were laid and the food prepared. On the wall there was a large banner hung, which read, “95: More damn fun!” When the honored guests arrived, they were warmly greeted with applause. As the applause died down, my father-in-law spoke: “I thank you all for coming to celebrate my ninety-fifth birthday. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to this day. I could go at any time.” Here he paused, before saying, “But then, so could all of you!” After a brief moment of stunned silence, the whole room erupted into laughter. It was the perfect, bitter-sweet beginning to the party.

I doubt my father-in-law will live as long as Abraham, who died at 175. Long after we have all passed away, it is the stories and example of our lives that will endure. I heard plenty of stories over those three days, as people recounted their joys and tragedies, and shared current concerns for one another. One particularly moving story was told by a sixty-five-year-old friend of the family. He recounted how, as a boy and an outsider, he had been warmly welcomed into the family as one of their own.

Of course, every family has its share of good stories and horror stories. However, over those three days everyone who was present believed that belonging to a family mattered. Bound together by love, the family was continuing to unfold across the generations, as new members arrived and found their place in the story.

Another kind of family to which we belong is the Church. God “destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:5). Those who sit beside us in church are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We call God “our Father” and Jesus his son. As Christians, we do not exist in an atomized reality apart from one another.We are all related through baptism.

God’s blessing for Abraham and his descendants is like a single thread woven into the good and bad stories of their lives. Likewise, in the messy reality of our own lives, the faithfulness of God abides. From God we learn the importance of keeping family ties alive, and seeing ourselves as belonging to something far greater than ourselves.

With blessings

Father David