Spiritual Moments: By the Congregation of the Greenock United Methodist Church

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

Spiritual Moments is a collection of deeply personal religious experiences—stories told by members of the congregation of the Greenock United Methodist Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
These stories relate moments when God made a powerful difference in someone’s life, moments when they experienced His presence, when they reached out in prayer and He answered their prayers.
Those who have agreed to tell their stories include ordinary people, ranging from mid-life professionals to retired seniors. For most of the authors, it has taken years to summon the courage to share these emotional experiences with anyone. The decision to publish our Spiritual Moments is based upon our belief that It no longer feels right to keep these stories to ourselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665546614

Marilyn Taft Thomas

Marilyn Taft Thomas is Professor Emerita of Theory and Composition in the Carnegie Mellon School of Music. She recently retired after nearly 40 years of teaching, including 10 years as Head of the School of Music. Dr. Thomas is an active composer with works for orchestra, choir, piano, voice, brass band and chamber ensembles. Her compositions have been performed nationwide as well as in Santiago and Valpraiso, Chile by the Orquesta de Cámara de Chile. In 2004, Thomas was granted the Stolarevsky Lifetime Achievement Award by the McKeesport Symphony Society for distinguished service in the arts, and for excellence in and contributions to the cultural life of our communities. In addition to her work as a composer, she has published over 20 articles and papers on composition, technology, computer music, music education and women in music. She has also authored two books, several collections of essays, poetry, and travel journals. Leadership in the Arts: An Inside View was published by AuthorHouse in 2008. Marilyn and her husband Harry have three married children and seven wonderful grandchildren. An unforgettable near-death experience when she was 6 years old shaped her life and led to the writing of Spiritual Moments—a collection of extraordinary stories experienced by ordinary people from a small suburban church in Pennsylvania.

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© 2022 Marilyn Taft Thomas. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  12/07/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-4660-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-4661-4 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Prologue

Near-Death Experience

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

Surrounded By Beauty

By Dana Geyer

My Grandson, Shane

By Cindy Obley

A Single Tear

By Lois Sheasley

The Mysterious Call

By Chris Breegle

Epiphany

By Pastor Lori Walters

The Light

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

Mom’s Dream

By Beverly Fawcett

Every Step Of The Way

By Cindy Lou Albright

Help Me, God!

By Karen Ripepi

A New Normal

By Dana Geyer

September 11, 2001

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

Uncle Allan

By Cindy Obley

Touched By An Angel

By Chris Breegle

Forever At Peace

By James L. Van Tassel

A Final Goodbye

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

She’ll Never Walk Again

By Lois Sheasley

Butterflies And A Red Cardinal

By Cindy Obley

Indian Head Nickels

By Angel McCormley

Ellie

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

Our Family Prayer Warrior

By Dana Geyer

Walking By Faith

By Chris Breegle

Aunt Dot

By Cindy Obley

Claire’s Passing

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

Surrender & Rise Up

by Debbie Popp Gilbert

Lila Needs The Flowers

By Pastor Lori Walters

Life In Heaven

By Angel McCormley

Michele

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

Trust Me

by Diane Frank

Yellow Rose Bush

By Cindy Obley

Stepping Out Of My Boat

By Chris Breegle

Telephone Call From Heaven

By Dana Geyer

The Gift Of Music

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

The Sign

By Holly Baer Wimer

Why Did You Have To Go?

By Karen Ripepi

Cops, Jerry, Jesus And Me

By Vaughn Gilbert

Epilogue

About The Author

About The Contributing Authors

PROLOGUE

Spiritual Moments is a collection of deeply personal religious experiences—stories told by members of the congregation of a small suburban church in Pennsylvania.

These stories relate moments when God made a powerful difference in someone’s life—moments when they experienced His presence, when they reached out in prayer and He answered their prayers.

Those who have agreed to tell their stories are ordinary people, ranging from mid-life professionals to retired seniors. For most of the authors, it has taken years to summon the courage to share these emotional experiences with anyone.

The decision to publish Spiritual Moments is based upon our belief that It no longer feels right to keep these stories to ourselves.

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE

By Marilyn Taft Thomas

It happened when I was very small—I believe it was the summer after first grade, so I would have been six years old. We were visiting the Chesney’s at their cottage. I remember Mom and Mrs. Chesney were sitting at the top of the bank overlooking the lake; Don, Suzanne, and I were on the dock.

I had wanted to go swimming, actually wading, since I didn’t yet know how to swim, but Mom said it was too cold—I wasn’t allowed. So, I pestered until she said I could sit on the dock and put my feet in the lake. This was great!

I can still remember sitting on the side of the dock trying to engage Don and Suzanne in this water-kicking activity. As usual, they were not the least bit interested in what I wanted to do; they were completely absorbed in some important conversation that did not include me. I felt really shut out.

So, I got up and moved to the end of the dock where there was more water and the kicking would be even better. But my feet couldn’t quite reach the water, so with both hands planted on the dock, I stretched my legs as far down as they could reach, and accidentally slid silently off the dock and into the water.

I remember my thoughts and feelings as though it were yesterday. My first thought was, Oh, goody, I’m going swimming after all! I opened my eyes and looked up; the top of the water was way over my head. I thought, How am I going to get out of here? I distinctly remember thinking about trying to go around the dock to the shore; now here’s where it starts to get weird.

I never moved my feet—I am sure of this! But somehow, I travelled to shore and saw that there was a concrete wall on that side. I determined I couldn’t get out that way. (I now believe this was the beginning of an out-of-body experience.) My next thought was I can’t get out of here; I’m going to die. I was not the least bit frightened. I remember thinking, Great! I’m going to see God!

And the instant I thought this, there was a great whooshing sound that enveloped me and I was suddenly propelled very fast through a tunnel. Then, I became aware of the most beautiful vivid green I had ever imagined. This green expanse was like an immense meadow—I remember seeing it on my right. It was a color I have looked for ever since and never have seen. It was so intense, it was as if it was lit from the inside, making the most vibrant rich color imaginable. Nothing I have ever seen in this life can compare to this.

I cannot remember whether I saw this green as I came out of the tunnel or whether the tunnel took me through this green expanse. The timing of things has gotten vague, but the memories of both moving rapidly through a tunnel with a whoosh and of that incredible greenness are indelible.

And then I remember coming into a magnificent light. It was as though my destination was this light; but as I came out of the tunnel, I actually went into this incredible light. It was wonderful and I knew I was with God.

But suddenly I received the thought, No, it’s too soon; you have to go back. There was no image of a person. There were no actual words spoken. But I experienced the following conversation as the strongest and clearest communication I have ever had—directly into my being.

I was told I could go no further; it was not time. I became very distraught and resisted. I wanted desperately to stay. (Now, this is really remarkable, because I was a very timid six-year-old, who was never more than a foot away from my parents. But, I wanted to stay right there!) I was told that I was not finished; I was still needed back there. Suddenly, I could see my mother on the hillside, as though I was being shown the one person who could draw me back. But even then, I said, No, I want to stay here! But I was told firmly that I could come back, but not now. It was too soon.

Then, suddenly I was back in my body, under the lake. I believe God was with me. I was still resisting, but now I felt afraid. I argued that I couldn’t get out of the lake. I was told to look up and grab hold of the pipe protruding from the end of the dock. I said I couldn’t reach it. (Now, the water was way over my head, and the edge of the dock was even higher, since, you remember, my feet could not reach the water when I was sitting on the edge.) And I was a very frail six-year-old. But I was told to reach up and I did.

Now, all I can tell you is that somehow, I was lifted up to that pipe. I had to be. There is no way I could have reached it. I pulled