City Church Newsletter

JoAnne loved City Church

Pastor John offered his thoughts in today's newsletter:

Dear City Church Family,

On Tuesday afternoon JoAnne Petersen went to be with Jesus. I met JoAnne when City Church started and quickly learned two things about JoAnne - she loved Jesus and she knew her time on earth was limited. In the late 90s she had been diagnosed with cancer. From then on, life was a series of ups and downs - from our perspective too many downs. But rather than leave her bitter, JoAnne grew - grew most importantly, spiritually. Early in her cancer journey she became a part of a group of women who met weekly to study the Bible. It wasn't long before JoAnne put the pieces together and understood once and for all how deeply loved and accepted she was in Christ. In response to God's love she made Jesus Christ the Lord of her life.

Some time ago JoAnne described to me how her new found faith led her on a journey from fear to peace. Nothing was ever easy for her, but she carried on. Her deepest desires were that those she knew and loved would come to understand God's love for themselves and that in her life she would honor God. She has inspired many in the way she has faced this terrible illness (as husband Kevin rightly said, "cancer sucks"). JoAnne lived each day with the knowledge that while our time here on earth is precious, as Christians we live with the knowledge that we are citizens of a far better world to come. A private family service was held this week. A public memorial service will be held later in July.

John Sommerville