FOOTLOOSE @ A FUNERAL

I started a new job last week and am super excited about it. I’ll be teaching Jr. and Sr. Bible at Westside Christian High School in Portland. And I have the flexibility to be able to teach from my passion. Three guesses…  But stay tuned, WOW do I have a lot to prepare by next Tuesday!

Unfortunately, the start to the school year will be heavy at Westside, and the halls will be filled with broken hearts. One of the most beloved teachers in the school (a math teacher no less!), suddenly passed away at 56 while on vacation with his family this summer. Annurism. It’s unimaginable for his young wife, who found him in the morning, and two teenage kids who attend Westside. How do they continue on? Many have had to learn this the hard way. But for those who have, they (we) have found that the grace and peace of God finds us in our greatest hours of sorrow. And happily, for those living in genuine community, they find it is truly at its most beautiful during these seasons. But it will be heavy for everyone, including this newbie to the Westside community. And I’ll have his oldest in my Senior Bible class. God help us, please.

This beloved teacher, William (Willy) Hughes, was brilliantly smart. He taught Calculus and other high end math classes I did my best to avoid. He was also a longtime youth pastor, with a doctoral ministry degree from a prestigious seminary on the east coast. But while watching the video and slides set to music, as in so many funerals today, something else became abundantly clear. Willy was a stitch! Picture after picture was of he and his family laughing, traveling, and being downright silly. And also with his students. Willy was beloved because he was always available to his students and genuinely cared. I want to be just like Willy as I begin my new assignment.

As the title states, the slide show had an unexpected twist. Instead of the subdued music so typical and appropriate at most funerals, the first song blared, “Now I gotta cut loose…Footloose! Kick off your Sunday shoes…” Many of you remember when this movie came out in the 80’s. Classic. But the second and third songs were just as raucous, including the perfect “Willy, Willy, Won’t Go Home!” It was fantastic! I guess I’ll have to rethink the Lionel Richie and Celine Dion I currently have picked out for mine.

But we didn’t just hear about Willy’s fun side. We heard about his deep convictions. He lived out his faith and it impacted the students (and adults no doubt) in his care. He also was evangelistic and uncompromising in his hatred of tomatoes. You could say of Willy that he was a man of whimsical conviction. That sounds like the perfect description of Childlike to me and was the perfect description of a life well lived. As I said, I want to be just like Willy.

And guess what? Willy, Willy, finally…went home!

JAY