Two very special men

Two wonderful memorial services were held&in the last 3 month -- Sam Carpenter of Battle Creek, Michigan and Carl Eicker of Birmingham, Michigan. Both men were leaders of a group of men who met in those two cities - both groups gathered for over 40 years. The Birmingham group is still meeting on Tuesday mornings. Sam was lawyer for over 50 years - but he was really more than even that - a "music man" for the whole of his city! Wherever there was a piano available Sam would play and people would listen, call out songs, hum a few bars, and Sam could play! At his memorial service a few hundred people heard from family and friends about Sam's life, public and private, from his partners in the law firm and from his quiet work serving all over the city.For me the remarks of his pastor Bob Zuhl of the Weslyan Church,when he opened Sam's bible and read a few passages... in the margins of the bible were written the words WOW and WOW,WOW!!! Chris Christ Sam's friend and law partner shared one of Sam's mottos, "When you are wrong, admit it. When you are right, shut up!" Sam did pro bono legal work for seniors at Burnham Brook and several other places, he was a man of great faith working in his church and the Gideons and numerous service clubs. Sam taught the Wednesday morning group for a number of years, even when driving to the group was a slow drive. That was a thriving group until the drive became too much - another group leader or teacher has not shown up - yet! For Sam and the other men Wednesday was a time for understanding those WOW passages and discovering even more how deeply Jesus can and does influence our life! I'll write about Carl Eicker's memorial and about his life in another blog Bill