Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic volunteer Chaplain TE Keith Cobb write this tribute to Dr. James Carr.
Friends and Fellow-servants:
As you know, we lost Dr. Jim Carr this past week – a good brother who walked the perimeter of Presbytery with no panache or flash. And so it is that you may not have known him.
But in life as in Presbytery, (can these really be adjoined?), Jim was never the fireworks Christian anyway. He was really more the outside night light kind of person – and just as a night light is not so much noticed till it’s not there, so it is with Dr. Jim Carr. It’s darker in his community than it was last week.
Hundreds paid respects to him in Greenville, NC, and more did so in Charlotte. He touched more lives than he probably imagined; he was, after all, a modest man whose estimation of himself always fell on the low side.
There were lots of pictures on the slide show at the visitation and funeral. There were comments from the pastor who preached, and a gracious, father-honoring eulogy by his son. Not unusual.
Neither was it that unusual that in the narthexes of both churches (in Greenville and Charlotte) were several items on display which obviously had significance to his family but seemed random to some of us. But as mourners filed by on their way to pay last respects, they paused and looked at these items: pictures, notes, sketches, a sermon tape (on Prayer and Forgiveness; how interesting), and…a pair of leather-palm work gloves. I don’t think anybody much noticed the gloves, and I didn’t either. But they stood out to me later as I drove home. There was no comment beside the gloves; they weren’t marked as ‘Jim’s work gloves’ and they didn’t have a plaque beside them. They were just ‘there.’ His hands must have filled those gloves, and he must have worked with them on his hands; that would be the obvious conclusion.
Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction (Prov 24:32).
Somehow, I get the feeling that Jim was like those leather palm work gloves – God the Hands that filled him, and used him, and accomplished His work through him. And, yes, God DID work through Jim. And somehow, I can’t help but imagine that Jim ‘got it’ that life is not about the gloves, but about the work, and about the Carpenter who is building His kingdom through us.
Tonight, I stand and call him blessed, and urge you to do the same; and I urge you to pray for Vickie, his wife and love (he always opened the car door for her), his son Aaron, daughter Beth, his grand-daughter Jaeden, his parents, and his siblings.
And may the work done THROUGH Jim endure. As for me, I will look at work gloves a little differently because of Dr. Jim Carr.
And may we remember…
When in the forest there is heard the crash of the falling oak, it is a sign that the woodman is abroad, and every tree in the whole company may tremble lest tomorrow the sharp edge should find it out…We are all like trees marked for the ax, and the fall of one should remind us that for every one, whether great as the cedar, or humble as the fir, the appointed hour is stealing on apace. (Spurgeon)
= = Posted August 22nd, 2012 = =
A life celebration for Dr. Carr will be held on Thursday, August 23, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Reimage Church (3950 Victory Lane, Winterville, North Carolina 28590, 252-355-6621). The funeral will be on Saturday, August 25, afternoon at the Resurrection Lutheran Church (2940 Commonwealth Avenue, Charlotte, North Carolina 28205, 704-377-6575). Contact the church for the exact time.
Donations in Pastor Carr’s memory may be sent to:
- God’s Love, P.O. Box 1973, Winterville, North Carolina 28590.
You can also make donations to:
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), 8701 Leeds Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64129. Donations in memory of Jim Carr will go toward FCA in North Carolina
= = Posted August 20th, 2012 = =
TE Dr. James A. (Jim) Carr died Monday morning around 7:15 a.m. from a gunshot wound received while protecting his wife, Vickie, from someone breaking into their home. Vicki called 911 and Jim was transported to Vidant Medical Center where he later died. Carr was 60.
Jim, a retired pastor, was a regular at the “First Thursday” monthly breakfast meetings for EPC pastors in the Greater Raleigh area and was involved in “Recovery Ministries” in Greenville, North Carolina. His heart for the addicted and the down-trodden was contagious. He blessed everyone with his love for the Lord, for the “least of these,” and for all.
Pastor Carr last had a staff position with Covenant United Methodist Church in Winterville in October 2009. Previously, Carr was at Williamston Presbyterian Church for 11 years. He was also a part-time van driver at Pitt Community College where his wife works as a administrative assistant in the continuing education division.
The General Assembly Office will make known funeral arrangements when we become aware of them.