Maggie Gordon reports for the Houston Chronicle on the earliest Sunday service at St. Martin’s Church after President George H.W. Bush’s death, quoting from a sermon by the Rev. Russell J. Levenson Jr.:
“Of all the things that run out — time, energy, money, patience, and even life — love is the one thing that outlasts every other. Once it is given, it keeps going and going and going,” he said. “If there’s one lesson for us … it’s to abound in love.”
That’s a message Levenson spoke about this April, when he delivered the homily at the funeral for first lady Barbara Bush, who was married to the president for 73 years. He noted then that Barbara Bush counted serving, laughing and loving as key aspects of a full life.
… There will, of course, be time for a special focus on the president at his church, which will host a funeral service Thursday morning. As with Barbara’s service, Levenson is expected to deliver the homily in front of world leaders and a smattering of folks who knew the former president well.
“It will be an invitation-only service, and please don’t have your feelings hurt if you were not invited,” Levenson told his parishioners in a brief end note to his service Sunday morning. “Everybody in the world feels as though they were best friends with the Bushes, because of the way they lived their lives.”
Related: Russell Levenson speaks with National Public Radio about the late president, who preceded him at St. Martin’s by many years.
