Inspired by the vision of Ros Bearsley, Ross was one of the founding members of “the” Gallery, here in Emu Park.  In fact, he and Bob Stack had the first exhibition and he has continued to exhibit ever since.  He always contributed even if the paint was wet, very wet.  But Ross was more than an exhibiting  member – he was treasurer, and a fine one at that, handyman, quasi-architect, friend, and an excellent networker both within our group and with the wider community.  In the months to come, we will hold a retrospective of Ross’s work and we would love you to come and see the variety of work of the multi-faceted man.

And now I would like to talk about another facet of Ross’s life – his religion or perhaps he would have said lack of religion.  When Kate first knew Ross he was a deeply religious man but after Vietnam he left that behind, well, at least the practice of formal religion, perhaps even God.  But there were parts that stayed with him and I think exemplify the man he was.  I read from a letter of St Paul – “Love is always patient and kind, love is never jealous, love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances.  Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but find joy in the truth.  It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.”

We are all here because we loved
Ross.  We loved him because he loved us first.  He was both loving and lovable and always practical in the care he showed us.  There was one quality he had which St Paul didn’t mention.  His humor.  All those good things he did for us, he did with joy and wit, even if the joke was sometimes weak.  He used his humor to deflect attention from himself.  He didn’t big note himself or want you to be beholden to him.  In fact, he acted in such a way that he seemed grateful to us for giving him to opportunity to do something for us.  I feel privileged to have known such a man of love.  I invite you now to pause and remember a quality of this man’s life that touched you and to give thanks for that.  Could we gather those thoughts together in prayer.

God of love, we thank you for the gift of Ross and the love we have known through him.  He touched our lives in differing ways and showed us how to be fully human.  Inspired by his way of loving, may we show it to others in our lives.