[Dialogue] Dialogue Digest, Vol 134, Issue 20

[Lawrence Philbrook]

How glad I am that these 4 were part of our community - Joe, Bud, Bill and Nelson.  How honored I was to meet and work with them even briefly.  Each served and cared in such profound and different ways.

(I feel I do not have the words to describe the gift each was to our community and to my life. Writing these is hard because my relationships were nuanced as a child, youth, adult and now "striving to figure out”  Elder.)

Joe Crocker I met when I was about 11 in Boston and his presence and spirit always struck me as as joy filled and able to see the spirit and the humor in many situations.

Bud Ames I knew as a gentle servant always seeming to be where he was needed and doing exactly what was needed before it was.  I only knew him briefly but it was profound illustration of transparent service.

Bill Grow happened to be a pivot point in my life.  At 16 I went to a CSI (Cultural Studies), Bill was one of the teachers and during this course the 7 revolutions spoke to me personally about where I wanted to dedicate my life.  Later the relationship came through his children, which was its own nuanced and flowing reality.  Then in the time of the Diaspora I went to Colquit and spent a brief time in dialogue reconnecting old ICA to new.  His passion, joy and disciplined focus gave me support in my own exploration.

Nelson Stover - I have known Nelson many years but our intimate conversations started in 2006, we were part of many struggles trying to figure out how ICAI can survive and thrive in the reality of our overlapping communities and service.  I always knew I could trust Nelson to be Nelson, to struggle for consensus and once reached to live into it with dedication and zeal.  Everytime we would be on a zoom call together he would check in and ask what was happening and then listen with intent to understand.  He will be missed.

Another aspect of each of them is that they were a part of a profound couple in which both parties made the other even better.  I send love to them and their familkies, those with us and those who have gone before.

Love and respect, 
Larry Philbrook
Taipei