and another thing...

Even in his death, God is using Andrew to teach me something.

I am convinced that God will never replace Andrew - there will simply be nobody to replace him.

God isn't making people as disposable helpers - each is unique, and special.

Andrew was exceptional, but I'll tell you what - Andrew is exceptional, for eternity, and he is so because he embraced his path, his purpose in God.

I am convinced that we will fair well because God will provide -- but He will not replace Andrew.

Instead, in the last day, Andrew will be restored to us and us to him. Thank you Jesus!!

And so, our grief can turn in patient hope...

Christophe Leroy

Thanks Andrew

Andrew,
You have made an impact on me, thank you for it. I am a different person than I would otherwise be because I knew you. Here are some things that come to mind...

I say things like "You Rock" and refer to being sad as "bummed." I like Jack Johnson, I even pray "The Divine Hours" (although not as consistently as I would like.)

I'm more reliant on Jesus.
Thanks for all the times that you made in your busy schedule to hang out with me. To listen to my problems patiently, never judge, and give wise advice. Thanks for helping me see the underlying fears and false beliefs that were affecting the choices I made. Thanks for helping me invite Jesus to heal some of those. Thanks for your joy, passion for Jesus, and humor.

I'm married.
But it was not a 1 day ordeal with flowers and white dresses. It was listening to Kate and I talked about our fights, while you and Val chased kids around your home. It was praying for our relationship before and after we were married. It was teaching us not to kill each other for our different attitudes toward money. Thanks for showing me what a father and a husband can look like. As Kate and I figure out how we will raise our children, I often ask what would Andrew and Val do?

I'm a leader.
Thanks for teaching me how to lead, and how to do that as a servant. Both for people trying to follow Jesus, and for people trying put away chairs at church. You taught me to encourage, listen, make strategies, trust in Jesus, pray for people I lead.

Thanks for changing me. I am so glad to have known you here.

Enjoy heaven,
Keith

Warm Welcome

Andrew extended a warm welcome to me and members of our congregation at Life Church, graciously allowing us to participate in small group leader training at The Vineyard.

Andrew’s generosity, commitment to Christ and the body of believers, and wonderful smile will be fondly remembered and greatly missed.

We extend our deepest sympathies to Andrew’s family and friends. You are in our prayers.

Sincerely,

Pastor Eva Clarke

Thankyou

Thankyou Andrew and Val and family for being a living testimony of Jesus , his love, pain , joy , sorrow and hope.

I had only been attending the Vineyard for a short time and Andrew was at the Boston site. I did not have the great blessing of getting to know him personally other than to see him and hear him and Val speak at the church in Cambridge. My life merged with Marianne and Chuck and the story of this man and his life began to unfold more and more before me. It has been my greatest privilege to pray for Andrew and be a part of this journey. It is profound how much someone can affect you in life and not know him well. I have been touched and changed seeing and hearing all he has been and done for others. Andrew's journey and sharing it with all of you has changed me and my life forever. I will only press on with more love, more hope and joy in Jesus name upon this earth , Thy Kingdom Come, Lord, Thy Kingdome Come...

Thankyou Andrew and thankyou Jesus for allowing all of us this precious time with him.

Judy Jordan

Thank You Andrew

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. ( Romans 12:6-8)

Andrew had a lot to offer. He gived his money and time to charity and organization like Rebuild Africa. He was a friend to many especially my family. Unselfishly, he gave of his time to Val, his kids and others. I still remember when he asked to take Bildine along with his family for apple picking. Bildine still carry that memory today. He did lots of voluntary work. He served as parent helper when I did kids church at the vineyard. He was a peacemaker- Settling disputes among his boys at home and small group members under his supervision. He was a teacher. He taught me Vineyard 201 and I enjoy his teaching. Today I am applying what I learned. That encourages me to understand that he lives on - In me and in every small group leader. He was a minister. I called him my small group pastor. He was a cheerful person, always smiling and giving words of affirmation. I left Boston in 2003. At the time I left, Andrew still look great. I heard about the cancer while in Liberia and pray with all that is in me, asking God to heal and restore Andrew's health. But, today Andrew is asleep. God did not heal his body but instead took him away from the painful body. He is absent from the body and united with Christ 2 Cor. 5:8. As I think about this, I can imagine how happy Christ and the angels must be. Psalms 116:15 say "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." So, Christ is happy!!! As I mourn, I mourn with this one thing in mind, Eventually, God will put an end to death. Rev. 21:4. While we wait for that great getting up morning, let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Thank you God for sharing Andrew's life with us. Thank you Andrew's family for sharing Andrew with us and Thank you Andrew for loving us all. We will miss you.


Bartoe Walker

Liberia

Full of life

The night we heard about Andrew's death, Teri and I toasted a glass of wine "To Andrew and Val".  Talking over dinner about interactions we'd had with Andrew, the thing that kept coming up is how we remember Andrew as being full of life.  That phrase really resonated with us, and we shared several memories which fit well with that theme.

Brian Odom

Oh Andrew

It's hard to write about all the ways Andrew's been part of my life. There were all the different classes he taught at the Vineyard, the countless wedding ceremonies he officiated that I attended, the sermons preached, and the leading by example as he shared life's stories with Val during the leading of the Marriage Course. Here are a few specific memories that come to mind:

The first time I met Andrew was in 2001 during my small group that Prashant Murti was leading. I introduced myself to Andrew thinking he was another new person coming to the group only to find out Andrew was observing that night as the Small Groups pastor! (I was still new at the Vineyard at the time).

My first time directly working with Andrew was in 2005 when I was head of the Logistics team at the church and Andrew was one of the main people (in addition to Chi-Ray) overseeing the transition to our new church building. (see accompanying picture as we were touring the construction of the building) I had many conversations with Andrew on the best way to handle all the details of smoothly running our own church as well as how to not exhaust myself in the process. His leadership was invaluable in the important task of taking care of the practical as well as the spiritual needs of people serving. Here is a snapshot from my meeting minutes during that time of tasks to do:

Andrew will take care of how people are doing things, making it more welcoming so people want to serve

I think that sums it up – Andrew wholeheartedly was part of serving the church and meeting people's needs.

Two funny times I remember with Andrew was the time I first started dating my husband and we were walking into church together and were coming in from the parking lot – we were holding hands but when we got closer to the church and I started seeing people (like Andrew) I got embarrassed and let go of my then boyfriend's hand and tried to pretend we hadn't been holding hands. Andrew called me on that and joked with me about my shyness in admitting I was dating (Andrew loved to laugh and have fun!). The other time was when I first visited the Boston site of the church and asked Andrew how things were going as we were walking into service. While holding his cup of coffee, Andrew said, "Great! I love it that I can bring my coffee into the service!" Somehow I think this may have led to the site at Cambridge adopting that privilege when we merged the sites back together… : )

There are moments like these when I just have to laugh at Andrew's candor and good nature. Though I wasn't as closely connected to him and his family, I was definitely touched by his life. While I was looking back on my pictures of events and celebrations at the Vineyard, Andrew is in almost all of them because he was such a huge presence in the church. He will be missed.

Karen Stevenson