Celebrating the Life of Bob Turcotte
Saturday, March 7, 2008
Those who trust in Him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect. Wisdom 3:9
We have heard many beautiful reflections on Bob’s life, and on the profound impact he made on the individuals and groups whose lives he touched. And so I must begin by sharing a couple of my own personal experiences of Bob that, like the others, speak volumes about our brother who has now completed the mortal portion of his eternal journey.
My first personal encounter with Bob came within two weeks of my arrival here at Trinity. He had made an appointment to talk about the property committee and his role as the chairperson of that committee. I have two specific memories of that meeting in my office. The first is of his absolute humility and candor in sharing that he loved being the chair of the property committee, but at the same time recognizing that he had been the chair for many years and had no personal or ego need to continue in that role – if there was someone else whom I felt could do the job, he was absolutely fine with ceding that role to others. The second impression that I recall is one of trying to figure this guy out – his blunt honesty, what seemed to be at least a tinge of formality, and his wry sense of humor that I would eventually come to love and, to the extent I could, understand.
Although I’m sure there were many occasions in between, the next event that comes to mind is some 11 months later, on the morning after my family moved into the Rectory in early November 2004. At 8:30 a.m., without a prior phone call or any other communication, the back doorbell rings. My wife answers the door, and there is Bob standing there, and he said something like this: “I know you just moved in yesterday, and I found myself this morning with a couple of hours to spare, so I thought I would just show up and see what there is I can help with.” Two hours later, after a quick run to Home Depot, our washer and dryer were installed.
A third story that I need to share. Three years ago, Linda MacGougan needed a male colleague to lead our Journey to Adulthood group for the 9th and 10th graders. After going over a list of names I had put together, Linda focused on one and asked, “What about Bob Turcotte?” We congratulated ourselves on what a brilliant, if seemingly unlikely, choice this would be, and so I called Bob and just asked him to pray over it. He called me back the next day with a question: “The last time I was asked to teach a high school group at church, it seems to me it was because the pastor was trying to replace someone who was approximately the age I am NOW in order to get a younger person in there. What makes you think I’ll be able to do any better than that guy was doing?” Having already anticipated this question, my response was immediate and just as clear as his question: “Because you are genuine, because you meet and accept people where they are, because you are a consummate “seeker” of the faith, because of your quirky sense of humor, and because Linda thinks you would be a good partner.” I heard a “hmm” at the other end of the phone. And then I added, “And if none of that works, you will at least keep the kids engaged because each week they will go out of the room asking one another, “Did he really just say that?” Suffice it to say that the year was an exciting and productive one for both the adults and the young people.
These three vignettes provide examples of some of the many reasons we all loved Bob – his absolute generosity of spirit, his sense of humor, often accompanied by a twinkle in the eyes, his humility. Of course there are other traits I will miss – for example, did you ever notice that Bob shared an important trait with Jesus? You know how Jesus often answered a question with another question, or with a parable? How many times can any of you remember asking Bob a question, and with only a moment’s thought, getting a response that was either another question, or a parable? He was a master at that.
And Bob was certainly a “can do” person. When we were refurbishing the stained glass in the clerestory, and the organ company told us we needed to provide a large number of wooden cases built to a specific dimension in order to store the organ pipes, Bob was the one who figured out the amount of wood needed, and ordered it, organized the crew and well before deadline, Austin Organ had their cases. When we decided to buy poinsettia trees a few years ago and needed stands built for them, Bob built the stands. When we were getting the complaints that the chairs you are sitting in were getting rickety, Bob organized the teams that spent several Saturdays tightening screws, installing brackets and re-gluing joints. And when we needed three wooden crosses for a Good Friday service – well, I suppose you can guess who built them. The stories of Bob’s care for our property – so central to our ministry here at Trinity – could go on and on. Indeed, Bob’s life exemplified St. Paul’s admonition to “be not just hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word” also.
But if there is one word that I think captures Bob’s life among us, I would have say it was the word, “seeker.” To me, Bob was the personification of St. Anselm’s definition of theology: Faith seeking understanding. He was a man of unshakable faith – a faith that he lived out and shared so fully with Alice. They prayed as a couple every single day – a practice that I would commend to all of us in committed relationships. But they also took advantage of virtually every opportunity to study their faith, to explore their faith, to probe the mysteries that continue to reveal themselves through both Sacred Scripture and reflections of the saints in light, whether from yesterday or today. In recent years, Bob and Alice, as a team, were faithful and active participants in Disciples of Christ in Community, Transforming Literature of the Bible, Lenten and Advent and any other study group we had, and most recently, together they were partners in our Healing Ministry, a ministry that Alice will most certainly continue.
But along with his steadfast faith, Bob never stopped exploring the questions and wrestling with the answers. Like Jacob wrestling with the angel on the shores of the Jabbuk River, Bob was always probing the depths of the life of faith, raising new questions about that mystical point at which faith meets life. Bob and I went out to lunch periodically, as I know he did with my predecessor, Bill Eakins. Sometimes it was to discuss church business, but more often a topic of those lunches was some question of faith that Bob was wrestling with – and they were never simple: So what about this doctrine of Atonement? Why DID Christ have to die in order to save our souls?
The last lunch I had with Bob was less than a month ago. As was so often the case, there was a presenting question, this time concerning the Bible: So what is the relevance of the Bible today? If it’s true that God’s revelation continues today and the Bible has to be interpreted for today, of what value are the words of Scripture? What does that say about humanity’s role as co-creators with God? As was always the case, we didn’t come up with any firm answers for any of these questions – that’s why we call it “faith”, not “certainty.” But it was another occasion to explore our faith together, to strengthen that faith, and to build our friendship in Christ. This afternoon’s passage from the Book of Wisdom assures us thata “Those who trust in him will understand truth,” and Psalm 46 assures us that though the mountains may be crumbling around us, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear . . .” In the Gospel passage from John, both Thomas asks Jesus, “We do not know where you are going – how can we know the way?” and Phillip, also having his own doubts, challenges Jesus to “show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” My relationship with Bob gave yet more proof to the maxim that the opposite of faith is NOT doubt – but fear. Bob had many doubts – but I never knew him to be afraid. On the contrary, he was not only steadfast, but committed to growth in faith.
At a celebratory dinner hosted by Kathy Steinwedell at the conclusion of the Disciples of Christ in Community program, each of us was asked to reflect on what the course had meant to us. For some reason, I don’t remember many of the reflections that night, including my own, but I do remember Bob’s very clearly. Bob’s reflection was, as was so often the case, a question: “I keep asking myself: Here I am, almost 80 years old. Why am I still here? What is God asking of me?”
That is a question I hear, in various forms, from many of our retired members, and Bob’s approach to life provides the answer not only to them but to God’s children of all ages: Whoever we are, and where ever we are on our journey of faith, we always have a purpose. Each of us has a unique role in fulfilling God’s mission – and that mission cannot be completed without us. And when this mortal portion of our life is over, we know, by faith, that we join God in the heavenly mansions prepared for us, along with the cloud of witnesses that has gone before us. I know that Bob is somewhere in Heaven even today, asking Jesus, "So tell me about this doctrine of the atonement . . . " And for the rest of us, our mission continues until we, too, complete this mortal life, and hear the words that Bob heard last week: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Welcome home.” AMEN.
