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Friends United Meeting |
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November 2003
Commitments
By Retha McCutchen, FUM General Secretary
I met a saint. Edith Ratcliff.
Quakers are not about granting sainthood. But...a look at the fourth definition in Webster's Dictionary, shows Friends do have saints! "...a person single-handedly dedicated to holiness, religion or a religious task; a godly person who has given up his/her life for the Name."
One of the greatest privileges of my life was attending the funeral services for Edith Ratliff held in Kenya this August. Over a period of three days, I listened to more than 13 hours of testimony celebrating Edith's life. She went to Kenya by boat in 1946 — a 30-year old nurse. She died on July 28, 2003 having lived 57 years in her adopted home country.
Edith lived a selfless life, giving, giving and giving again. There are hundreds of people in Kenya educated and working today because Edith paid their school fees. Along with paying school fees, she held them accountable for their relationship with Jesus Christ. An equal number of people said, "I'm a Christian today because of Edith." We watched about 300 school children walk by her casket in a show of honor.
During her working life, Edith was a nurse. Lugulu Hospital is a tribute to her life, where she had the vision to begin a clinic that turned into an excellent hospital. They are naming the maternity ward in her honor.
In her retirement she did "ministry." That's her word. She dispensed both food and medicine out of her front door while going hungry herself. She used her vehicle to transport people to meetings, conferences and social gatherings so often that she is credited for bringing unity among the 14 Kenyan yearly meetings. She did this by facilitating their meetings, not by being the upfront leader. She served as treasurer for about a dozen organizations — some for nearly 50 years.
Listening, I wrote down words used to describe Edith. Edith looks like this...
E encouragement, energetic, example and yes, eternal
D devotion, disciple, daring
I inimitable, individual, integrity
T truthful, trustworthy, teacher, treasurer
H honest, helpful, humble, humorous
Copyright (c) 2003 Friends United Meeting
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