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Sean Taylor Funeral

Today, a three hour funeral was held for Sean Taylor. There were several emotional moments throughout the service as there were numerous tributes from family, friends, and teammates all bringing their unique perspecive to honor Sean.

I had previously heard that Sean Taylor grew up Seventh-day Adventist and that was definitely the case. Two Adventist pastors took part in the service including the homily by Pastor David L. Peay, Sr. who is the pastor of the Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church (The church choir also sang two songs). Sean attended the church this summer and raised his hand during an appeal. Pastor Peay also spent several hours with him a month ago talking about a variety of issues. He avoided the temptation to give a study on the Adventist perspective on the state of the dead but he did reference a brief quote from the "servant of the Lord."

I must admit that they were a few cringe-inducing moments during the homily, including the pastor wondering if Sean died because they were many people in his family who knew the truth but weren't living it out. This coming after a long discourse on seeing many people come to church for a viewing who don't come to church otherwise and wondering why it took Sean's death to get them there. He asked, "Isn't Jesus' death enough?" I understand that there were many people in attendance and watching who aren't actively practicing faith but I wonder how appropriate it is to go on the evangelistic offense at a time like this. Jesse Jackson also somehow found his way to the funeral and seized the opportunity to advance his agenda.

Perhaps I'll share some insights I've learned about the grieving process and what I've found to be helpful and unhelpful over the next few days.

The Redskins have a short week as they play on Thursday night versus the Bears. After four straight losses and dealing with this death, a win sure would lift our spirits. I'm not counting on it though and at the end of the day, I guess it's really not all that important in the larger scheme of things.

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