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Dear First Church family,

As many of you heard in the service yesterday, our beloved Carol Wilson-Braun died yesterday morning after a long journey with ALS. Her husband Jeff was with her, and her sons Nathan and Peter and some family friends gathered throughout the morning. I was able to join them during our worship service to bring the love of our church community to them. We prayed together, as I know you did at church too, to let Carol know how beloved she is as God welcomes her spirit home.

Since I arrived at First Church, and particularly in the last few months, I have come to know and love Carol’s courage, her steadfastness, and her heart. I know that for so many of you who have known and loved her for longer, this loss is huge.

Carol has been a pillar of faith and community at First Church since she and Jeff first joined the church, decades ago. She loved singing in the Choir, joining in the summer of 1980 and attending with unerring faithfulness. At the end of so many Sunday services, she would make her way to the Narthex, where she would greet visitors and newcomers with warmth and curiosity, welcoming them into our household of faith. She was a passionate voice for justice in our midst: an advocate for the sanctuary movement of the 1980s, a leader in First Church’s journey toward becoming an Open and Affirming congregation, and a strong, steady presence in our Missions and Social Justice ministry for decades.

Throughout the course of her illness, Carol was surrounded by the love of God made manifest in the loving hands and presence of her family, who cared for her exquisitely, and by many members of the church who visited, including the Choir, who came to sing in her home just a few weeks ago. Carol so loved First Church that she kept coming as long as she was able, resting her head on Jeff’s lap during services this past spring. Carol loved First Church, First Church loved Carol, and we will miss her terribly even as we entrust her spirit to the all-embracing love of God.

We will be in touch as we know more about services to honor and celebrate Carol’s life. In the meantime, please continue to pray for Carol’s spirit, and for her family and dearest ones, including many at First Church. We give thanks for her singular and precious life, for our community, and for God, who is our solace, strength, and peace; our help in times of trouble.

With love,

Emma Mitchell
Pastoral Associate

The picture above of Carol, Jeff, and their dog Baxter was part of First Church’s family slideshow shared in our virtual Christmas Eve service in 2020, when we couldn’t gather in person, but we nonetheless connected as a community.