What follows is the sermon I preached on June 7, 2025 at Kilmarnock United Methodist Church in Kilmarnock, Virginia at the service of death and resurrection for my father, Walter Mitchell Forrester.
My name is Doug Forrester and I am dad’s oldest son, or as he likely introduced me to you, “the one who is the preacher.” For the last twenty-eight years, I have served as a pastor in the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, most recently as the superintendent of the Valley Ridge District in southwest Virginia. I would like to begin this afternoon by giving thanks to the Rev. Chris Watson, the pastor of Kilmarnock United Methodist Church, for the care and lovingkindness he has demonstrated towards my family over the course of the last several months and for the grace he has shown in allowing me to stand behind this sacred desk and fulfill dad’s expressed desire for me to preach this service.
For ten years, I served as a member of the conference Board of Ordained Ministry. One of my responsibilities was to serve on the interview committee called “Practice of Ministry,” which includes preaching. In this capacity, I was part of the evaluation of the preaching of over one hundred women and men seeking commissioning and ordination in the United Methodist Church. I tell you that only to say that without question, the greatest sermon I have ever heard in any context on the topic of the resurrection of the dead is the one preached by my brother Michael, in those final hours, as he walked dad to the door separating life from life everlasting, as he held our father’s head in his hands, looked into his eyes, and assured him that the next place is better, that God will care for those of us who remain on this side of the door, and that the saints of God who dad loves and who love him awaited him across the threshold.
Going on to Imperfection 