This has been a week of unexpected sadness at St. John’s. Monday morning I received a call from long time members of our church family, Frank and Bobbi Allen, informing me that their grandson, who has lived with them for many years, had died in his sleep. Jeremy McKinney Allen was well known to many of us, he was a member of our youth group under the leadership of Scott & Mel Bomar, he had many long-time friends at St. John’s, and several like me had just wished him a happy 30th birthday. Like you, I felt shock and deep sadness that someone so young was taken from us. We will be having a funeral service for Jeremy at Forest Home, Hollywood Hills on Thursday, December 21st at 2:30pm.
The death of a family member or close friend is something we are never prepared for, but especially during a joyous season like Christmas. Earlier this week we also heard news reports of the death of a young firefighter who was taken by the massive Thompson fire that continues to burn this weekend, and that...