Edwin Kalerwa, a long-time member of our church, passed away on September 10. He hadn’t been here in person for a long time, having moved to Swindon. But he was still in our hearts and still in our church family. Edwin’s last ten years were not easy, facing homelessness, destitution, and the perils of the immigration system. He lost a lot in the process.
We’ve spent a century being the church of the open door. Our door was open to Edwin. He became one of us. Our church family could not give him back many of the things he lost, but we could do a lot to replace them with other things. He became a regular at our International Group, the Theology Group, the Nazareth Community, and the Bread for the World services. We never quite got the numbers for a chess team, but Edwin would have been the captain. There were a lot of doors opened to Edwin. And we kept them open even after he left London.
We can keep the door open to his memory. One way we can do that is to support his final wishes. Edwin’s final wish was to go back to Africa. His family would like to have his funeral in Kenya. Edwin’s only relative in the UK, his niece, is left with a lot of work and costs. Sophie and I will be organising an effort to raise funds for the considerable expenses involved.
We also have the Marketplace event today, and another one in November. In many ways, it represents the big family that St Martin’s is, both within our walls and out. It is a showplace of the many doors that we have. We need to keep them open for the other Edwins out there.
Rest in peace, Edwin, and rise in glory.
Dan Kaszeta
