How Do Protestants View The Lost of John Paul II.

It was the Sunday after the head of the Catholic Church died, after leading for 26 years. This pope was unique or is to most people 30 or younger as this is the ONLY pope they have known. I recall one interview on one of the networks "He was my father, and here is the cross my earthly father gave me when I joined the Church!"

I am not Catholic, but I cried when I he died. But I knew he was prepared to go to Heaven as his accomplishment here were unsurpassed! He grew the Catholic Church from 750 million to over 1 billion members. How many people are there in this world? Catholics, people of all faiths mourned his passing? But how did or are the Protestant congregations treating this lose.

I belong to and a communing member of a Presbyterian Church in a little town in Bessemer, Alabama. We are right in the middle of the Bible Belt in Alabama. I went to SS and Church Sunday and went early to enjoy coffee and cookies, a part our fellowship each Sunday morning. I did not hear Pope John Paul's name mentioned in those 15 minutes with friends.

We began SS and we have a time where anyone that needs our prayers, the sick, the shut-ins, and our service men are remembered and we are reminded to keep these people in our prayers. John Paul II, the leader of the Catholic Church for 26 was never mentioned. I look back and I should have said something which now I regret my not adding his precious name to our prayer list.

After Sunday School, we had 10 minutes or so before Church started at 11:00am and I stood in the courtyard and talked with six or eight deacons and elders and greeters and ushers, but the name of John Paul II, the lost leader to over 1 billion Catholics all over the world was never mentioned!

The Church service began at 11:00am and the lay leader who goes through the announcements and activities for the week. John Paul II's name was never mentioned. The minister spoke for 30 minutes and neither at the beginning nor at the end of his sermon did he mention John Paul II, the leader of 1 billion Catholics that passed away the previous day!

I stood at the top step of the Church behind the minister after the service and greeted some people leaving and mingled and greeted people leaving. We talked about many things, but the subject of John Paul II, his death, was never mentioned.

Me! I cried when he died. I prayed at Church for Pope John Paul II asking God to accept his servant into his loving arms. One Protestant, this one, is no less guilty of not mentioning Pope John Paul II's passing! I have a feeling of loss and that this world is worse off by his passing! Maybe, only maybe, this note is my way of saying "Thank you John Paul II for affecting my life and the people of all faiths and bringing over 250 million more people into the Catholic Church!"

You will be missed!
Jeff Nutter, Jr., Vestavia Hills, Alabama, USA