This morning we had a pancake breakfast in the fellowship hall, followed by the service there. Pastor Tim Hallman spearheaded the pancake-making. During his sermon, he thanked everyone for coming for pancakes, and explained why it held such significance for him.

A number of us remembered.

Five years ago, on the last Sunday of that year, Tim was getting ready to make pancakes when he was told to go upstairs. His wife, Tara, was waiting for him in the office with terrible news: Tim’s brother, Matt, had just been killed in an auto accident. A drunk driver–a young mother with two young children in the backseat–hit Matt’s car. Only the children survived.

So holding this pancake breakfast was a big deal for Tim. He told how the accident took away much of his passion for ministry, and he thanked people for hanging in there with him. He said this pancake breakfast was somewhat of a new beginning for him.

Yesterday, on the actual anniversary of Matt’s death, the family visited the Pilgrim’s Rest cemetery in Huntington where Matt is buried along with Tim’s youngest brother, Ben, who died in 1994. That’s Tim’s family in the photo, and I’m trusting Tim doesn’t mind me stealing this photo from his own blog entry about the day. Sometimes stuff like this drives people out of the ministry. I’m glad Tim is still with us.