Mike Beale

Excerpts from eulogy from  Pastor Steve Ranney:

I knew Mike primarily through the five and a half years that we worked together at St. Mark (he was with us for sixteen).  He would arrive early and set up the sound system and key board for our informal service.  When he was done practicing, usually about a half an hour before the start time, we would often have time to sit and talk. . . .

We talked about his family, his work and how he was a Maytag man who left the office, his various musical jobs (I remember him telling me how playing at Bethel Providence was stretching him and making him a better musician) and then about anything else we chose.  Over the years, I came to count on Mike for some feedback and to appreciate the love for Christ that he put into his music. (By the way, we at St. Mark have a wonderful gift from Mike in the form of a hymn that he wrote to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary)

It was in one of those conversations that something I said caught his attention.  We had been talking about getting older and some of the ailments that go along with that and he had concluded with the statement, "but it beats the alternative".  I responded to him by saying, "Maybe not."  This seemed to take him back and he looked at me with a puzzled look.

I was able to explain how I had come to the conclusion that the reason that there is not more in the Bible about Heaven is because if we knew what it was like, we might all want to be there.  I gave the example of Paul's near death experience and how afterward, he was able to say in Philippians 1:21, "for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain."  What he meant by this was that as long as he was alive it was because Christ had a reason for him to be here, but he would much rather be in heaven.  This last year as Mike faced the loss of his foot, we revisited that conversation and the reality that Christ would continue to use his talents to lift people's hearts toward God.

. . . .[Last week], Mike, having served God for over fifty years, came face to face with that God, the God who loves him more than anything in the world and he is now experiencing the wonders of Heaven and joining in the indescribable music, as he sings his own praise to his savior, Jesus Christ. . .

That same God that Mike found faithful offers us the peace and comfort that we need.  Just as God did not forsake Mike at death, so God will not forsake us.. . . .

Romans 14: 7-9
Romans 8: 31-35, 37-39

Prayer:  Merciful God, you heal the broken in heart and bind up the wounds of the afflicted.  Strengthen us in our weakness, calm our troubled spirits, and dispel our doubts and fears.  In Christ's rising from the dead you conquered death and opened the gates to everlasting life.  Renew our trust in you that by the power of your love we shall one day be brought together again with our brother Mike Beale.  Grant this we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Into your hands O Lord we commend his spirit. Amen.