Remembering Together by Emmitt Drumgoole

“You’re looking good, Aunt Lorraine!” I would always say. It was the truth. At age 89, Aunt Lorraine knew how to dress, and she didn’t mind a compliment or two when you noticed her. Just be sure that when you call out to her that she hears you say Aunt first. As I was often reminded, “Put a handle on that name, young man” when I got so bold as to call her by her first name without the appropriate title. Only the “handle” aunt, auntie, or mother would do. Aunt Lorraine endured a time in Southern Louisiana where black women were called girl, gal, and other names not fit for this blog. She earned her handle, and we were all expected to honor her place as a strong, black woman who had raised generations of young black women and men.

She was everyone’s aunt and everyone’s mother. With a mind as sharp as a tack, and a smile that could brighten the lowest of days, Aunt Lorraine made you feel like you were home when you were with her.  It is why March 21 was so difficult for us. Aunt Lorraine died that day, and with the beginning of the March shutdowns and as a result of COVID, many of us could not attend her funeral to honor her life.

All-Saints Day, November 1, 2020, will give my family the opportunity to honor Aunt Lorraine. 2BC, along with Christians around the world, will honor their loved ones that have died this past year. All-Saints Day is when we remember them and honor their legacy together as a local and international Christian Community. This is a tradition that I have grown to love in my time at 2BC, and I look forward to receiving a rose in aunt Lorraine’s honor for All-Saints Day 2020.

This year members who have requested a rose to honor a loved one who has died this year will receive a rose delivered to them between Friday, October 23, and Sunday Evening, October 25. With approval, a photo will be taken to be used in worship for All-Saints Day. If you would like to receive a rose, please contact the church office no later than Tuesday, October 20, at 4:30 p.m.

I miss Aunt Lorraine, and It has been difficult not to grieve with family at her funeral. All-Saints Day serves as an opportunity to grieve but also celebrate her life with my church. And so on November 1, I will listen for her name, and after Jason has called Lorraine Hanzy, I will hear in her voice, “Put a handle on that name, young man.”