Are You Turning a Blind Eye or Serving?

The Church of the Cross is a great and growing Church – praise God! But we could be doing so much more in the Name of Christ if fewer of us were coming to worship to sit and leaving to do the same thing! If you are one of these “sitting saints,” perhaps the story of Rose Meisner will inspire you to action.

I first met Rose in 2013 while conducting a leadership retreat for my good friend, The Rev. Greg McMullin, and the parish of St. Mary’s and St. Bartholomew’s in St. John, Canada. Rose was the congregation’s pianist and worship leader; and may I say, she had a rare passion for the Lord, a passion one could clearly hear in her playing and singing; it was a passion born in hardship.

Shortly after her birth in Newfoundland, Rose was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease – her sight was totally gone by the age of five. Wanting a meaningful life for their daughter, at six Rose’s parents sent her to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to attend a Canadian school for the blind. I cannot begin to imagine how traumatic that experience must have been: a little girl, alone among strangers so far from home and unable to see anything or anyone. Soon after arriving, a gentle Christian teacher befriended Rose and introduced her to the world of music, quickly discovering Rose had a gift for playing the piano. Rose’s ear for music and keyboard skills eventually took her to college where she met her future husband Clayton. Though Clayton’s work prompted several moves about Canada, Rose was never far from her piano and never reticent to share her talents in worship; for in addition to introducing Rose to the piano, that dear Christian teacher had opened Rose’s eyes of faith to see Jesus and she had been serving Him ever since.

Seven years ago, Rose was diagnosed with cancer. As the end of her earthly life neared, she asked Greg to let her play the piano and praise the Lord with the congregation one last time – the service that followed was a tear-filled testimony to God’s grace and mercy! The parish gathered again a few weeks later for Rose’s funeral – she’s seeing Jesus face-to face now!