As we approach Resurrection Sunday, my mind is flowing with multiple topics that I could write about, but today I realize that I am directed to report on an experience I had yesterday that
declares the glory of God functioning through all of us.
I must stress that I need to get very personal in this blog and I ask you not to think that in any way I am trying to lift myself up, or to draw attention to any accomplishments of my own. It is just that I need to comment on many happenings in my own life, so it can be understood as to why I am reacting so personally to the events of Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
The event is the Celebration of Life for Travis Lee Pelley at Rock Church. I happened to be a member of the Rock Church pastoral team and to be the Academic Dean of the ASK Bible
Training Centre for over 20 years. It was in those roles that I first met Travis Pelley when he enrolled as a student in the year 1998. His sister Natasha had also attended. Both Travis and Natasha were excellent students – receiving good marks from all our ASK faculty. When Travis graduated in 1999 with a Bible Major in Spirit -Filled Living and a Minor in Ministerial Studies, I observed his continued involvement at Rock Church in various ministries. Eventually, Travis became part of the Halifax Fire Department, and his advancement indicated his love for the occupation.
As Tuesday’s service commenced, it was an emotional moment as over 100 firemen paraded into the sanctuary, in full dress uniform. They were acknowledging the passing of one of their own. This was followed later with what is known as “The Ringing of the Bells Ceremony.” This stands for the confirmation that the fireman has completed his
assignment and is now at rest. Later, the bagpipes were sounded along with the drums, and it was a highly emotional moment. Beautiful eulogies were delivered by a friend of Travis, Peter Adamski, by his sister, Natasha, and by his dad, Wayne Pelley. The message was delivered by Pastor Evan Maxwell and we all sang “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” Travis’s wife, Emily delivered a eulogy stressing the dedication of her husband.
Travis’s dedication to the Lord was always evident as it continued over the years and his friendship with many on a spiritual level was always wonderfully reported. The young man served others through the fire department; he was known as a great husband and loving father to his three children; he was loyal to his family and personal friends; and, of course, he was truly dedicated to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And so now it is Tuesday, March 31, 2026 and I am sitting at Rock Church looking at the platform and remembering how many sermons I had spoken there, as well as how many Bible
school classes I had participated in from Monday to Friday for eighteen years. I cannot fully explain how wonderful Pastor Ted and Pastor Paul were to our family as we participated in
their leadership and to the hundreds of families that gathered there weekly to fix their eyes on Jesus.
I was also recalling what an important part Rock Church played in the community with all the outreach ministries, in particular the Education Department and the Shiloh Youth Ministry which were all assets to Travis and Natasha Pelley as they advanced in the call the Lord had for them.
Friends, I am close to 88 years of age, and the Lord has used me to pastor in three churches, and I believe it was the solid foundation placed in the Kendrick family at Rock Church that put our feet truly on the solid ground that the Lord wanted us to have.
After the Tuesday memorial service, Pastor Chris Ivany invited the congregation to a special reception to greet the Pelley family, and it was there that Bev and I were blessed to have an opportunity to talk to so many people that we had first met 49 years ago. One of the pleasantries we enjoyed was that so many of you were regular readers of this blog, “Jerry’s Jams and Notions,” and what a comforting word it was to Bev and I when Travis’s sister informed us that she and Travis had read these blogs, too. It was also a great blessing to us when Travis’ dad, Wayne, told us how valuable the ASK Bible training days were to Travis over the past few years, and it was an opportunity for me to pray for Travis’s Dad and Mom and Travis’s wife and children.
I guess today, in this blog, what the Holy Spirit is prompting me to do is to tell you how comforting it is to all of us to one day find out that our ministry efforts were not in vain, but that
what we had done, in obedience to the Lord, became solid anchors of guidance for other people who are also walking the walk. So, keep seeking the Lord and believing for His precious promises!
And so, we see that the passage of time can reveal to us that our faithfulness today can bear much fruit under the anointing of the Lord. I encourage everyone today to realize what a friend
we have in Jeus, and what a comfort it is to be a part of the worldwide family of a wonderful, merciful Savior.
Remember folks, HE IS RISEN! He is alive and He is praying for you; so, we should all be praying for Travis’s wife, Emily and children, and the rest of the Pelley family.
I guess as I review my attending this Tuesday service, I can see more clearly how the Lord has used Bev and I these past 49 years and that we must always be on guard to say, “Here am I Lord, use me!” The Kendrick family needs your love and prayers and you will always have our love and prayers! Together, let us do all we can to know Jesus and to make Him known.
Jesus is risen, and He gives us resurrection life! And we proclaim our born-again experience and faithfully believe the Promises of His scriptural Word and walk in His grace.
Remember, 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Sufficient does not mean “barely enough” – it means “more than enough.”
God bless the Pelley family, and God bless you all. Together we will keep the faith, and the faith will keep us as we keep our eyes on Jesus.
A Prayer of St. Patrick
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left.
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise.
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye who sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Jerry's Jams & Notions 