11.25.08 - Friends and a Funeral
CMA has lost a dear friend, brother, and co-laborer. The Bishop of the church Harvest Time Tabernacle, Spence Pinder passed away a bit unexpectedly. Spence was a graduate from CMA's very first class of students, and he went on to serve as the Chairman of our Bahamian Board.
For the memorial service our good friends Paul and Lisa Voss came down to the island. Although their trip was short, and centered around the tragedy of the loss of Brother Spence, it was a treat to have them visit and we had a wonderful time with them. It was actually Lisa's first time to hold Micah.
The memorial service and funeral were quite special. Spence was extremely involved not only in his church, but also in his community. Seemingly endless numbers of friends and family made tributes to Brother Spence. I personally knew him in the context of my ministry with CMA and my summers as an intern; I even interviewed him in our CMA promotional video.
Often at funerals you have people talking about their loved one in ways which can be overly complimentary or exaggerated to honor their memory, but in Spence's case all the testimonies were exactly true and they revealed the work of the Holy Spirit to produce a life defined by Christ's righteousness.
Paul got to speak on behalf of CMA at the service. The funeral and memorial services were elaborate and almost 4 hours long each as everyone had a chance to pay tribute. Spence was a dear friend and his presence will be dearly missed.
