This is my tribute of homage and respect for two men who radically impacted my life, Ton and Pat. They were not anchors upon my journey, rather were prophets and mentors challenging me forward, showing me the way by word and example. Within a short period of 10 weeks they both Crossed Over to Further Shores. They are not lost to me yet I feel deeply their absence in person.
Ton Danenberg, Companion
Passed to a New Life December 30 2019
Yours was not a strident voice challenging us to run into the future
You were our companion who walked with us
to create a new future, a renewed church to be true servant
of the people
You did not deal in strategies
Rather you dug new wells to draw sustaining waters
That would nourish our emerging spirituality
You shone a light on our past ways of thinking
To ensure the past would be a light for the future, not a burden
Knowing where we came from
We were strong in setting new patterns on the path we were discovering
You stood tall
A man of integrity, insight and clarity of mind
A man without intrigue, honest and true
You laughed with us
We laughed together
I witnessed you cry for the slain and the disappeared
Then you found your way to true Mercy
A new life, a new heart
We rejoiced for and with you
Now you call us into a further uncharted future
Your spirit guides us as you wait for us
Our companion
Patrick Coughlan, True Gardener
Passed to a New Life March 11, 2020
I reflect now on the reality, the strength and the beauty of our relationship over many years, able to thrive and nourish at a distance.
It is a wonder that brings deep satisfaction and gratitude.
We have trod paths that seemingly were so different, yet in the final analysis paths that brought us together in heart and spirit.
Patrick, you did not so much shine a light for me in darkness.
Rather you threw back the curtains that enabled me to see a wider vista, a garden of sorts, the world as a place of beauty.
But this garden, this world, this people needed tending.
To the end you were a true Gardener.
You did not command from on high with a loud voice
You tended the mind and heart and spirit in ways direct and gentle
Your own suffering was a source of healing for others
Your ability to laugh and enjoy goodness around you
Was only matched by your sheer determination to live in spite of the illness that plagued you
You walked countless miles to recover and build your strength
You walked into the lives of countless people whose lives have been strengthened by your presence
Farewell Patrick.
Anthony,
It is not a long life nor a brief life that matters but the depth of the relationships we have with the living that matters.
Your reflections on Ton and Patrick remind me to be grateful for the depth of love, compassion and wonder Patrick shared with me and many others I know and many more I will never know. There is a sense of infinity in the moment when you can not grasp the height and depth , the width and the length of the love you share with the other in your life. It is beyond and above and within all in the same moment. Time is lost in the moment of joy and sadness. They become one ; you can not experience joy without the sadness; sadness has no meaning without the joyfulness of love.
Wow! At long last, after so much sweat and tears, it’s here!
Congratulations , Tony, and looking forwarder to more thoughts, questions, challenges and projections. MORE POWER, Ol’ mate!
Thank you Ben! It is the people who inspire us …
Nostalgic as I read through this piece… knew both Pat & Ton, especially Ton. Have happy n comic memories of both. I’d love to eavesdrop on their chats in heaven now, that is if I would wait long enough for the conversation to start , progress and end. I could imagine Ton trying to make Pat understand his English and asking “But Is there a God?” And Pat , hand on chin thoughtfully replying,”Hmmmm, well, yesssss..” I am hoping and fearing at the same time that Bren would come and complicate and further deflate the chat! Perhaps Mcsweeney would save the day with his booming “Tindog Tabitha kita Asian kantahon an Inang daing digital!”
Sorry for a rather irreverent reaction to this solemn piece. No desecration intended, TONY.
Ah, your mind is as crooked as mine! I had already pondered how the conversation of that Triumvirate – Ton, Pat and Bren – might flow, or blow! As for the Essendon footballer, perhaps he would simply not understand? Certainly he would ask each of them if they were legally married!