CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF AURORA (RORY) ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ-SOTO

(Mother of choir member, Julian Rodriguez)

Saturday May 18, 2024 @ 1130am

Saint Matthew UMC

2414 Hitson Lane

Fort Worth, Texas 76112

in lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be directed to the GoFundMe page set up to assist with funeral expenses.
https://gofund.me/60175303

Greetings, dear Church, in the name of the risen Christ.

I had so much fun Sunday morning with the song that we sang, and with the time that we spent together before church having breakfast together. For some reason, everything seems lighter. The decisions of the general conference this year have made a way for everyone to be at the table of our Lord. There are no words for me to adequately express what that kind of freedom means. I am grateful to you for your continued love and support.

I’m also very grateful to those who showed up Saturday to clean the church. Nan and Winston cleaned the entire church in two hours. It doesn’t seem like a huge task, however, only two people showed up. We’ll have a sign-up sheet on Sunday to get a more organized and consistent schedule for cleaning the church.

Anna is progressing well after having a major surgery on Monday. She was up walking today with physical therapy. I look forward to spending time with you again this weekend. I miss you between these Sundays, Mary.

Greetings in the name of the Risen Christ!

I am still giggling in joy over the events of the past two weeks. I am especially joyful over the great service we had Sunday morning. Julian’s song was perfection. And, once again, you continue to overwhelm me with love. It was so wonderful to feel your joy as well. We can spend a bit of time reveling in our freedom and then we will get together to make a strategic plan for getting back to the business of loving other people. You may remember last November that Bishop Saenz laid out the plan for fulfilling our mission as the new United Methodist Church. I look forward to working on this with you.

Please remember the family of Julian Rodriguez in your prayers. Julian sang for us Sunday. He called me this morning to tell me his mother passed away suddenly. Julian is the oldest of his siblings also and will need special strength as he helps them navigate this difficult time. We will have the funeral at the church. Julian has a large family and they will provide their own food; however, I told them we would set up the fellowship hall for them. I will provide more details as they become available. 

Blessings to all, and my undying love, Mary

Greetings to all,

The great news is that Max is feeling better and will be back with us this Sunday! I am thankful for Eric McKinney and for his message on Sunday. I enjoyed my time at Good Shepherd. They are a loving and affirming congregation, active in their community and with each other. We should invite them to a picnic sometime at St. Matthew.

I am preaching this Sunday and from the way things are going in North Carolina, I will have good news to share from the UMC General Conference. Through the grace of God, this United Methodist Church is moving past meddling in the private lives of its members and clergy. The same grace will get this church back into a place of relevance in the world, sharing the unconditional love of God, and being the hands and feet of the embodied Christ. Thankfully, we will be able to finally do as we have been instructed by Christ, Love the Lord with all our hearts, minds and bodies. And, love our neighbors AND ourselves.” Love to all! I hope to see you Sunday.

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,

Sunday was a very tender day for many of us. It was a day of profound grief and immeasurable joy. I have discovered that both emotions bring me to tears and so Sunday was a very, very tender day. I was not alone in shedding tears of sadness over the loss of Julie M. Julie and Tracy have been a major force in our church, always generous with their time and talents. And, I saw many of you with “leaking eyes” when Anna and Tyler stood at the back as evidence of God’s miracles in our lives. Our family is forever grateful to you for your prayers and for those of you able to sit vigil as Anna healed from her illness.

It is strange to be in the “bittersweet” as we were yesterday, but I am wondering if we are not always living there. We never lose the grief that accompanies loss in our lives and we can always find a miracle in our lives if we look close enough. I think that is what being Easter People means. We are able to see the miracle in the presence of great sorrow. We can do so because we are God’s beloved children and we are never alone no matter where the pendulum is swinging. 

I enjoyed Max’s history lesson on Sunday. It is wonderful to belong to a congregation with so much history. And I am thankful that a newspaper article is the beginning for many folks. I also know that even if the newspaper brings people in, it is you, our loving and caring congregation, who keep people coming back. Saint Matthew has been revived several times in its history and we may face the need for a more modern intervention soon. But, the heart of our Lord joined to the heart of all of you keeps this church alive.

I am one of those “newspaper” people who wandered into St. Matthew after seeing the Meadowbrook News. But it isn’t any newspaper that keeps me coming back. It isn’t even my job there as associate pastor. I keep coming back, my family keeps coming back because of you. We love you dearly, Mary.