In Memory of Glynn Allen Owens

September 21, 1973 - April 2, 2003

Ralph Smucker, stepfather:

There is a three-letter word that has been used more than any time in recent history in this city. That word is "WHY?" Why did God let this happen? Why did it happen so fast that the medicine and everything else the doctors could throw at the disease not work? Why did a young man with so much potential have to have his life cut down so quickly? Why did we not have more notice so we could talk with him? Cissy said to me the other morning, "Tell me why." I said, We do not have an answer. The silence of God almost screams in our ears." Still we ask, "WHY, WHY, WHY!?"

We can all identify with the ancient prophet of Israel. He had been such a hero in the nation. The people were dancing in the street over their joy with what he had done. Now, he was in a blue funk. People were serious about coming after him to kill him. He was starving. He was hiding in a cave. The prophet asked, "Why,Why?" Then Elijah said, "I hate you, God" and went into deep depression.

This is a dark day for all of us. In fact it is so dark that we can hardly see anything right now. When times are dark and hard it is natural for us to seek help from where ever we can find it. One of the places I like to find guidance is from the Holy Bible.

When you look at the basics of its message the Bible says there are two major influences in our world. One is Darkness and the other is Light.

The Creation story starts out by reporting where there was total darkness, but God responded by creating light. He fixed the darkness by giving light.

When the people of God had just come through their equivalent of our 9-11 and were all confused about their future and security God said to them through another prophet, (ISA. 61:1ff.) "Arise, my people. Let your light shine for all the nations to see. For the Glory and Love of the Lord is streaming from you. Darkness is everywhere, but the Light of the Lord will shine from you and all nations will come to your light."

In the darkest of times God's people were given national purpose, THEY WERE TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! That message has not changed over the last 3000 years.

When God gets involved he gives us strength and purpose.

In the NEW TESTAMENT, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world!" And he went on to say, "You are the light of the world. Let your light shine so that everyone may come from the darkness to the light."

There are various kinds of light. You can turn on the light with a switch.

The definition of darkness is that which destroys us, which makes us fearful, which keeps us down, which hurts us.

The definition of light is that which liberates us, which helps us become what we were created to be, which empowers us to reach our potential. That's light.

You know what. I find that the closer I get to the light of God in Christ, an inner glow that lights the way for me begins to develop when I need help to deal with the tough times in life, or when I need power to reach my dreams.

Today we are memorializing Glynn Owens. Glynn has inspired many of us with his dream for his students and for the divine profession of teaching young people. He has shared the light with many, many young as well as older people.

So, our challenge today…. how can we best memorialize Glynn's life?

Let me submit that one way can do this by passing along the light God makes available to all of us.

1. STUDENTS, you can pass along the light of God when you feel like you're getting mixed up about where your life should go, what you should do with it, or whether you should listen to the brokers of darkness (some would be friends) in your world who would have you believe that it is more fun to have a quick fling than it is to take the longer harder way to fulfillment and success. Let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE! When times get tough and you want to run away and hide. Let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE.

2. PARENTS When it looks like your children are rejecting every value you treasure, hold on to your principles and let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE.

3. DEAR, DEAR FRIENDS OF GLYNN AND THE FAMILY. Do you know what you have meant to us and what your kind words and services mean to us? You have already been letting your light shine! When you start to think that our culture is so full of darkness that there is little or no hope for the future. Let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE.

4.FAMILY OF GLYNN, I have not been along on part of the journey in Glynn's development, but you who have helped to shape Glynn into the man he had become, who have so much to rejoice over and be proud of and who now have so much sorrow, first seek God's comfort, "for He cares for you",and then, seek the light of God in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE to carry on the dream and the passion you gave him.

Children, parents, friends, and family let me assure you. It is a law. It is something you can not successfully argue against.

When times are darkest, God is always wanting to be close to us. I believe He works harder to reassure and reach out to us when we are in trouble. He gives us strength, reassurance, and He comforts us; AND then He always gives us an assignment, a MISSION. It is: Where ever you find darkness, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!

I have wished each of us could have a candle in our hands that we could light and hold high that would symbolize the light that guided and inspired Glynn. But that is not possible in this setting.

We wish we could all carry the torch for Glynn now that he is gone. Here is an alternative for you. Let each of us think of ONE dark place in our lives. It could be within us or it could be between ourselves and someone else, or we could think about the dark places between nations. What ever it is, let us, as a memorial to Glynn, decide to bring the inner glow of the light of God to that particular darkness in our world, and keep bringing it to that darkness till it is turned to light. Then we will have brought more meaning and purpose to the life that was cut so short. Then we'll will have honored Glynn Owens in a way that this History teacher, who actually tried to make sense of history for his students,---Yes, we will honor him by helping Glynn Owens make history. What greater honor can we cast upon him? He is making history in our world and now God has honored him by bringing him safely home to Himself.

As a continuing part of the memorial I invite you to pray with me.

"Dear God, I need more of your light to come into my life."
"Please give me the wisdom and strength to let your light brighten up my life,"
"And then I will let my light shine where ever I go."
"So that the world around me will be able to know and see the right way."
"This I pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
AND,
In the name of Glynn Owens who we are memorializing,
Whose life and spirit and dreams we want to carry on."

"AMEN , AMEN, AMEN"

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		In Memory: Glynn Allen Owens
		September 21, 1973 - April 2, 2003

Main Page		Ralph Smucker, stepfather: There is a three-letter word that has been used more than any time in recent history in this city. That word is "WHY?" Why did God let this happen? Why did it happen so fast that the medicine and everything else the doctors could throw at the disease not work? Why did a young man with so much potential have to have his life cut down so quickly? Why did we not have more notice so we could talk with him? Cissy said to me the other morning, "Tell me why." I said, We do not have an answer. The silence of God almost screams in our ears." Still we ask, "WHY, WHY, WHY!?" We can all identify with the ancient prophet of Israel. He had been such a hero in the nation. The people were dancing in the street over their joy with what he had done. Now, he was in a blue funk. People were serious about coming after him to kill him. He was starving. He was hiding in a cave. The prophet asked, "Why,Why?" Then Elijah said, "I hate you, God" and went into deep depression. This is a dark day for all of us. In fact it is so dark that we can hardly see anything right now. When times are dark and hard it is natural for us to seek help from where ever we can find it. One of the places I like to find guidance is from the Holy Bible. When you look at the basics of its message the Bible says there are two major influences in our world. One is Darkness and the other is Light. The Creation story starts out by reporting where there was total darkness, but God responded by creating light. He fixed the darkness by giving light. When the people of God had just come through their equivalent of our 9-11 and were all confused about their future and security God said to them through another prophet, (ISA. 61:1ff.) "Arise, my people. Let your light shine for all the nations to see. For the Glory and Love of the Lord is streaming from you. Darkness is everywhere, but the Light of the Lord will shine from you and all nations will come to your light." In the darkest of times God's people were given national purpose, THEY WERE TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! That message has not changed over the last 3000 years. When God gets involved he gives us strength and purpose. In the NEW TESTAMENT, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world!" And he went on to say, "You are the light of the world. Let your light shine so that everyone may come from the darkness to the light." There are various kinds of light. You can turn on the light with a switch. The definition of darkness is that which destroys us, which makes us fearful, which keeps us down, which hurts us. The definition of light is that which liberates us, which helps us become what we were created to be, which empowers us to reach our potential. That's light. You know what. I find that the closer I get to the light of God in Christ, an inner glow that lights the way for me begins to develop when I need help to deal with the tough times in life, or when I need power to reach my dreams. Today we are memorializing Glynn Owens. Glynn has inspired many of us with his dream for his students and for the divine profession of teaching young people. He has shared the light with many, many young as well as older people. So, our challenge today…. how can we best memorialize Glynn's life? Let me submit that one way can do this by passing along the light God makes available to all of us. 1. STUDENTS, you can pass along the light of God when you feel like you're getting mixed up about where your life should go, what you should do with it, or whether you should listen to the brokers of darkness (some would be friends) in your world who would have you believe that it is more fun to have a quick fling than it is to take the longer harder way to fulfillment and success. Let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE! When times get tough and you want to run away and hide. Let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. 2. PARENTS When it looks like your children are rejecting every value you treasure, hold on to your principles and let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. 3. DEAR, DEAR FRIENDS OF GLYNN AND THE FAMILY. Do you know what you have meant to us and what your kind words and services mean to us? You have already been letting your light shine! When you start to think that our culture is so full of darkness that there is little or no hope for the future. Let the light of God be in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. 4.FAMILY OF GLYNN, I have not been along on part of the journey in Glynn's development, but you who have helped to shape Glynn into the man he had become, who have so much to rejoice over and be proud of and who now have so much sorrow, first seek God's comfort, "for He cares for you",and then, seek the light of God in you and LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE to carry on the dream and the passion you gave him. Children, parents, friends, and family let me assure you. It is a law. It is something you can not successfully argue against. When times are darkest, God is always wanting to be close to us. I believe He works harder to reassure and reach out to us when we are in trouble. He gives us strength, reassurance, and He comforts us; AND then He always gives us an assignment, a MISSION. It is: Where ever you find darkness, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE! I have wished each of us could have a candle in our hands that we could light and hold high that would symbolize the light that guided and inspired Glynn. But that is not possible in this setting. We wish we could all carry the torch for Glynn now that he is gone. Here is an alternative for you. Let each of us think of ONE dark place in our lives. It could be within us or it could be between ourselves and someone else, or we could think about the dark places between nations. What ever it is, let us, as a memorial to Glynn, decide to bring the inner glow of the light of God to that particular darkness in our world, and keep bringing it to that darkness till it is turned to light. Then we will have brought more meaning and purpose to the life that was cut so short. Then we'll will have honored Glynn Owens in a way that this History teacher, who actually tried to make sense of history for his students,---Yes, we will honor him by helping Glynn Owens make history. What greater honor can we cast upon him? He is making history in our world and now God has honored him by bringing him safely home to Himself. As a continuing part of the memorial I invite you to pray with me. "Dear God, I need more of your light to come into my life." "Please give me the wisdom and strength to let your light brighten up my life," "And then I will let my light shine where ever I go." "So that the world around me will be able to know and see the right way." "This I pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, AND, In the name of Glynn Owens who we are memorializing, Whose life and spirit and dreams we want to carry on." "AMEN , AMEN, AMEN"

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