January 19, 1952 – August 8, 1972
Celebration of Life
Endlessness: Memorial discourse given by Joseph Mathews at the celebration of the death of his son
We are here to mark the sojourn through life of John Donaldson Mathews. John was sent by God to live in this world, and now he has been called from his station. He was sent to be a part of the family of mankind. He was born January 19, 1952, in Hamilton, New York and died his death August 8, 1972, near Rawlins, Wyoming.
John was a son and a brother. He was a son to Joseph and Lyn Mathews. He was a brother to Joe and Jim and Gloria. All of these now survive him. John was a citizen of Chicago, a full member of the Order: Ecumenical within the Church of Jesus Christ and the People of God. was currently assigned to the San Francisco Religious House where his assignment was to be a student in the City College of San Francisco. He was also a teacher in many of the courses of the Ecumenical Institute.
In becoming a global servant, he spent over one year of his life as a student on the continent of Latin America. For three years he was on the faculty of the summer camp of the Emerging Generation of the Order. His deeds are hereby rendered up to history, as a sign of a life expended on behalf of all.
John was anchored in the historical Church of Jesus Christ. age nineteen, he was baptized into the Methodist Church to signal his decision to be the Church. He was raised and nurtured by the Church as a member of the families of the Order. By his own decision, he chose the Order as his life vocation. At death, he now claims his place among the congregation of the faithful and the triumphant.
John, finally, was a solitary. He lived his life in joyous sobriety, and now in awesome tranquility living his death. His life is complete and will remain forever part of the eternal mystery that shapes and creates the world.