Saturday morning Rebekah and I drove over to Wake Forest for a memorial service honoring one of Wake Forest Presbyterian’s (WFPC) most prodigious saints. I say “saints” because while there may be no official “saint” category in Reformed Christianity all the congregations we have served have been full to overflowing with them!

Even so, Barbara Winch was special. She was not only a deeply gracious person but instrumental in both establishing and maintaining the compassionate, well-organized and highly effective “Stephen Ministry” program at WFPC.

For me, two things stand out as I thank God for Barbara: care and hospitality.

First, her tireless, consistent and genuine concern for me as the pastor’s spouse. I can’t count how many times I received an encouraging phone call or email in the middle of challenging situations. She was particularly attentive and encouraging while I was taking care of my parents and even more so during their decline those last few years.

Barbara’s ability to read between the lines and to reach out did not stop when Rebekah retired as senior pastor at WFPC, it did not stop when my parents died and it did not stop when we moved to Tarboro. She continued to faithfully and deliberately pray for all of our family by name – especially our two children – and I valued the power and the effectiveness of her intercession.

The prayer of the righteous person is powerful in what it can achieve.

James 5:16

Beautiful hospitality:

My other gratitude comes from Barbara’s inimitable style and consummate giftedness as a host. Rebekah and I will never forget one particular “you could not make this up” dinner group we were part of. It comprised Hugh and Diane Terrell, Sue and Jim Crawford, Barbara and Peter Winch – and the Mauls.

Every household hosted beautifully, with glorious food and wonderful fellowship at each of our four homes. Then at our last feast Barbara said, “this has been so great that Peter and I are inviting you back to our house for a bonus dinner.”

It was some bonus! Barbara fixed an eight-course authentic Chinese meal (she had once been apprentice to a celebrity chef in Taiwan), along with detailed explanations for each amazing stage of the feast. We all felt loved and valued and cared for and gifted unconditionally.

Here’s an excerpt from my post the next day:

Barbara went the extra mile… She pulled out her cookbooks from the years she lived in Taiwan, she dedicated the entire weekend to food preparation, then she gifted us with an authentic eight-course Chinese gourmet extravaganza. Spring Rolls, Lamb with Scallions, Minced Pigeon, SzeChun Eggplant, Double Cooked Pork, Peiking Duck, Fried Noodles, Three Treasure Soup, Mandarin Oranges. Every course was served with perfect rice, and other carefully prepared complements, even down to a real Chinese beer.

Like I said, you can’t make this stuff up. That’s how it is with genuine, one-of-a-kind people. They defy categorization, they shine from a place of authenticity and their lives seem to be on a mission from God. In Barbara’s case it was a mission to serve, grounded in love.

I for one am grateful to have been included under the umbrella of such prodigious grace. As her son-in-law Kevin sang with such genuine faith at the memorial, “I can only imagine…” – DEREK