Sis. Arlene Gordon of Montgomery, West Virginia, fell asleep in Christ October 14, 2008, after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband Ronnie, and a brother and nephews, nieces, and cousins who live in New Jersey. Arlene was baptized into Christ on March 24, 2006. I had the privilege of meeting Arlene when I was blessed to have the opportunity of doing some work with the MidAtlantic A.S.K. program in the fall of 2004. Sis. Jean Cheetham of Moorestown, NJ, insisted that I visit Arlene when looking up contacts in West Virginia. Jean had been in touch with Arlene by mail and could see great potential with her.
When we first met, we bonded immediately. I found Arlene to be sincerely looking for God’s Truth, and we ended up having an extended Bible study that first day. I gave her more literature to read, to go along with what Sis. Jean had sent her, and the truth started to take hold. Although I had many contacts to look up, I kept being drawn back to Arlene. She was an avid reader of all Christadelphian writings she could get her hands on. With little or no preconceived ideas, she was open to believing God’s Truth. So she read her Bible and studied for about 1 1/2 years. Arlene had any number of physical problems which kept her from walking or functioning at a normal level. She had need of a catheter and used to joke that she could crawl some, but looked funny when going up and down steps. She had a way about her — a spirit that, despite her physical limitations, absolutely endeared herself to me and to all who knew her.
In the spring of 2006, I was able to drive through West Virginia on my way to New Jersey, and I again stopped by to see her and to see how far along she was in understanding the first principles of God’s word. I was pleased to find, upon giving her an interview, that she had come to understand the truth on most of the questions for baptism. This allowed me to go through those questions she had answered incorrectly, looking up passages so that she could see the truth on those topics. On my return trip, to my delight, she had done her homework and finished the examination getting all questions right. We discussed the possibility of baptism, but I was careful not to push her. I told her that either I or some other visiting brothers and/or sisters could baptize her at a later time. But I did point out that there were any number of great Scriptural examples showing the urgency of doing the right thing — of following Christ’s command. Acts 2, and the 3,000 who repented and were baptized upon hearing Peter’s words, made a strong impression. She was convinced, and then she was baptized. We were able to break bread together for the first time.
One of the things I stressed again and again with her was the uniqueness of the spiritual family that we have in the truth — that if and when she decided to obey Jesus and get baptized, it was a far different thing than simply joining the local church. She was becoming a part of a worldwide family, of believers who believed the same truths, who loved the same God and the same Jesus, and who shared the same hope of eternal life in God’s kingdom. This concept was one she had never experienced before. She did have a loving husband, but was not really close to her natural family members who were still living. And as far as her former church membership, when she was young with the Catholic Church, she could immediately see the difference. I told her that I would get her names, phone numbers and addresses of brothers and sisters all over the continent, and I did — on a continuing basis. One contact with one sister in Christ would lead her to inquire about another, and then another. Though she was technically in isolation, she made the very most of being a member of this new family. Many brothers and sisters made special efforts, either to go by and see her on their travels, to email her or to talk with her on the phone.
Arlene and I had a wonderful relationship. We talked on the phone about three times a week on average. She was not shy in asking me for help in getting some book she had heard about or seen “written up” in one of the magazines. She especially enjoyed receiving The Christadelphian Tidings and The Glad Tidings (from England). The last thing that I sent her, just a few days ago, were the final three lessons of the Exploring the Bible course from thisisyourbible.com.
I can remember very vividly one incident. We were going through a lesson on the kingdom and how it would be established on the earth when Jesus came back. We started looking up and reading verses to show what this marvelous kingdom would be like, and we read Isaiah 40:31:
“Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Along with all the other impressive prophecies about that great age, this one really hit the mark with her. I can still see the twinkle in her eyes when she asked me if it was really true — if one day she would be able to do all those things, and I told her that it surely was. After that initial discussion, it seemed like every other time I saw her, she brought up that point again — just to make sure that nothing had changed in the meantime — one day her non-functioning body would really be empowered to function in that marvelous way.
Arlene was a beautiful person in many ways. She will be truly missed by all who loved her. I will miss the phone calls, the emails, and the Bible questions that would come up when she tried to witness to her friends and neighbors. And I will miss her friendship. May we all have the honor and privilege of meeting her one day in that glorious kingdom when we, like her, are blessed to enter into the joy of our Lord. Then we all, with glorified bodies, will run and not be weary and walk and not faint.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One