Submitted by Rev. Melisa Derseweh
“Call 911 and get the defibrillator!”
We were running on treadmills side by side at the Y when my husband, David, stepped off to visit the restroom. Moments later, I knew in my spirit something was horribly wrong. I emergency-stopped my treadmill. As I recovered my balance and turned toward the restroom, I heard the shouting. Even as I ran toward the restroom, I was praying…
No one could have prepared me for his widow-maker heart attack. The Rev. David Hawkins was 52 years young. David played full-court basketball with twenty-somethings for fun.
In the days that followed his sudden death, I faced not only grief but the immediate responsibilities that come with loss.
The Ministerial Fellowship gift arrived a few days later.
The Ministerial Fellowship gift is a one-time monetary gift paid upon the death of a Ministerial Fellowship member. The gift is valuable because it is real dollars, and it helped pay for some of the expenses suddenly in front of me.
Beyond covering expenses, the gift gave me the comfort of knowing, in a tangible way, that our fellow clergy were holding me in prayer. The Ministerial Fellowship’s gift made those days more bearable.
All clergy are eligible to participate and are invited to join the Ministerial Fellowship by paying $10 to enroll, then $10 per Call (i.e., per member death). Members may pay ahead or wait to pay with each Call. The amount of the gift is set by a vote of the Fellowship members at the annual meeting for the upcoming year.
To become a part of this supportive group, contact Ministerial Fellowship Treasurer, the Rev. Keith Long.
Rev. Melisa Derseweh is the current president of the Ministerial Fellowship. She serves as senior pastor at Morton Memorial UMC in Monteagle, TN