One of the first songs my three year-old daughter learned, thanks in large part to Dora the Explorer, was Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again another day.

Anytime it begins to rain outside, she sings this song.

She does not yet realize how desperately we need rain here where we live,

and really in any part of the world there is a great need for rain.

Nor does she know what a blessing rain is.  

I never met Rain Parrish, but the family welcomed me quickly into her warm presence, and helped me to cherish the beauty that she was

and to honor the dignity by which she lived her own life.

 After a short time with her family,

I quickly learned Rain was an amazing blessing to this world.

And that this world is in desperate need for more people to live as she did.

What an honor and privilege to take part in her life in this way,

and I pray that I may honor God and honor Rain and her family in this service this morning.

As stories were being told about Rain, I was captured by several lasting images and impressions.  

Rain felt led to honor her native spirituality and religion,

and yet, the family sought out this faith community, Presbyterian Church, because

an early favorable experience with this tradition of faith.

When Rain and her siblings lost their mother while they were all young,

Their father sought out a Presbyterian Bording school - Ganado -

And they were left with positive impression, thanks be to God.

And so we blend some of the Native Tradition Rain upheld, and some of the Christian Tradition in which she was raised.

In the book of Genesis, we read about God as Creator.  

God, as an expression of love, from deep within, created beauty.

The heavens and the earth.  

The Sun, Stars, and moon; water, vegetation, animals, and humanity.

God saw the beauty of Creation and declared it good.

Rain was a Creator of beautiful things.  I

t was from somewhere deep within that Rain created beauty as an expression of love.  

Not only did she desire to create, but there was also a deep longing that by sharing her creations with others - a couragous act -

 and that these creations would be a blessing to others.  

With each object that landed in the hands of another person,

there was also a prayer card, with a prayer Rain wrote.  

The Navajo female deity most revered by the Dinè people is called Changing Woman.

It is said she gave the gifts of fabrics and jewels.

She is central to our philosophy

and world view in that when we give offerings we receive the gifts of

harmony, prosperity, well-being, happiness and good health.

It is to her story and rituals, that I pray for all good things

   in body, mind and spirit and I share this with you.

In the gift of this prayer,

I believe Rain sought to claim that when her creations were exchanged with another person, this was not simply a Market Exchange of an object for money, but that there was something spiritual taking place.  

Different from the too often callous market place in which people and goods are reduced to mere commodities and seen only for their utility, Rain wanted to transcend this understanding:

behind this jewel, woven into this fabric, is life, is love.

She clearly was a brilliant creator.  And she wanted her creations, and those of others to be more than mere commodities.  

She was on this path to capture the spirituality of creating at an early age.

She was young when she became the first Native American curator of the Wheelwright museum.

At first, honored and enamored by this important position.  

She at some point became disillusioned.  

She saw that too often in museums, Creations and gifts of others, particularly from Native communities,

were seen as seen as artifacts to be used for personal gain and fame. Absent was respect for native items which were sacred to and cherished by the people to whom they belonged.  

In many ways, from her experience with traditional museums

and as part of the fervor of the 60s emerged from within a desire to boldly claim and live into her Navajo traditions and heritage.

 She would become an advocate or evangelist, if you will, of these traditions and practices of her people,

even as so many Navajo were being lured toward

or torn apart by the predominant foreign cultures and traditions around them.  

No doubt she experienced being marginalized and disrespected because of who she was as viewed by the predominant culture of her time,

yet, she was somehow able to find strength to boldly stand up and proudly claim her own heritage.

She stood in the side of those who were being treated unjustly.  

Throughout scriptures we see God calling us all to be on the side of justice, and to advocate and stand up for those who are treated unjustly.  

Her desire to stand up for others, reflects another way in which Rain has been described: like a Mother.  

She never had her own children,

and yet, so many saw her as a mother.  

Having lost her own mother at an early age, she suffered the loss of that nurturing and tender presence.  

So, perhaps her desire was to give this gift which she lost to others as often as she could,

by being like a mother to them, showing them tenderness and nurture.

It takes an amazing person to overcome their suffering and transform that suffering into good for others.  

And it was goodness that she stood for and believed in.

And it seems that this reflects what Jesus life was all about.  

Jesus also lived a life of humility and hospitality.

I loved seeing the home where she lived and worked.  

From a humble table, she birthed her gifts for the world.  

In her humble abode, all were welcome.  

Her spirit of humility and hospitality withstood any tendencies which may have compelled her to live in a more grandiose and isolated manner.

While she was able to rise and soar like an eagle in so many good ways, perhaps she never wanted to run the risk that others may think she had risen above them, and they were no longer worthy to be part of her life. Rain would let her lifestyle and her work speak for itself.  

in The Epistle of Philipians it says:

Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Rain learned and taught this lesson well.

She had an activist spirit, meaning she could not only see that things weren’t as they should be in this world,

but that she was going to put energy into creating the world as it could be.  

She lived into this idea of a creating better world.

She trusted in the goodness of humanity; even though she had witnessed and experience being taken advantage of,

and the exploitation of her people and their sacred items.

She had her ups and downs,

but she always made you feel up when you were with her.

She had the gift of being present with you.  

In our world in which we are so distracted by so many things, and where we can be so easily wrapped up in our own struggles,

Rain blessed others by giving the gift of presence.  

When I am with you, I am with you.  

Rain is no longer with us, and I believe this world has experienced a great loss in Rain’s death.  

This world is in desperate need of lives like that of Rain.  

Rain may have gone away, but yet, she comes, and she comes again into our lives

Rain may have gone away, but she is here present with us

Each time we share her memory with others,

Rain may have gone away, but she is here present with us

Each time we live into her legacy and cherish those things she cherished,

Rain may have gone away, but she is here present with us

Each time we emulate the love that she had and follow the example she set.  

Rest in sweet sweet peace, dear changing woman, and thank you for the grace by which you lived your life,

and the blessing that you were for this world.

We give thanks to God for your life and your love.

We give thanks to God for the hope of resurrection and being united with loved ones once again.

Amen.