Linda Bird Wright

The Lord is in All of This
Rev. Linda Bird Wright passed away April 5, 2012 after battling Stage 4 lung cancer. She was recently a full-time associate pastor at First Centenary UMC in Chattanooga. Wright gave $92,000 in her husband's memory to build a Holston Conference guest house in Yei, Sudan. She had her eye on other ways to share God's love in a place where she saw so much potential. The following story was published in the Fall 2010 Foundation newsletter.
The Rev. Linda Bird Wright has
been through so much in the last
two years, one would expect her to
be changed. But here she is, on a
good day between chemotherapy
treat-ments, serving chicken salad
sand-wiches on her deck and talking
about Sudan. She is not defeated. In
fact, she's ready to hurl her suitcase
on a plane to cross the ocean. "I
would move over there tomorrow if I
could," says the pastor. "What I saw
there was not a desperate situation.
What I saw was a glorious
opportunity, literally dropped into
our laps by God. "We have the
chance to have an effect on the lives
of young people - to transform an
entire nation with the love of Jesus."
Linda is still Linda, and she's got
a lot on her plate, despite Stage 4 lung
cancer and a recent full-time appointment
as associate pastor at First-
Centenary United Methodist Church
in Chattanooga. Wright has given
$92,000 in her husband's memory to
build a Holston Conference guest
house in Yei, Sudan. She's also got her eye on other ways to
share God's love in a place where she sees so much
potential.
TRAGIC MONTHS
Eighteen months ago, Sudan was barely on Wright's radar
screen. She was a Holston pastor who had served Soddy
UMC and Unicoi UMC, among others. At Annual Conference
in June 2009, Wright was on stage alongside Bishop James
Swanson serving as a secretary, just as she has for many
years past.
Many people were surprised to see her familiar face in Stuart
Auditorium, because 2009 was a tragic year. After surviving a
bout with Stage 3 lung cancer, Wright was on her way to
Chicago for a denominational meeting when her husband
was killed in a car accident. Walter Lee "Walt" Wright III, age
73, died in a single-car accident between Decatur and Dayton,
Tenn., on March 18, 2009. He was driving from a doctor
appointment in Chattanooga back
to where his wife was appointed at
Unicoi UMC. "I got the call on my
cell phone, at the Knoxville airport,"
says Wright. She was married to the
retired pilot for 44 years. They met
when she was a Delta Air Lines flight
attendant in the 1960s.
Funeral arrangements were made
for the beloved United Methodist at
his home church, Central UMC in
Knoxville. An old friend, the Rev. Ray
Robinson, was chosen to coofficiate.
Robinson and his wife,
Jane, drove to Unicoi to visit with
the widow. On their return trip
home from Unicoi to Maryville, Ray
Robinson was fatally injured in a car
accident. Walt Wright's funeral was
held March 22. Ray Robinson's
funeral was March 24.
The hurt continued. When Linda
Wright arrived at Annual Conference,
her cancer had returned and was
progressive. Yet she took her seat next
to her bishop as he presided over the
four-day meeting. As Wright worked, she listened to the reports
of Holston's ongoing mission work in Yei, Sudan. Something
happened. "I just felt the Lord saying, 'Linda, you can do
something about this,'" says Wright, who had traveled many
countries with her husband.
Realizing that some mission needs are easier to fund
because they tug at people's heartstrings -- while some
needs have less emotional appeal -- Wright approached
Swanson and asked, "What do you need help with?"
GOD'S CALLING
Bishop Swanson said he was "overwhelmed with joy" when
Wright approached him - "for Linda, as she sought to listen
to God for a way to honor Walt, and for us, as we were
challenged to answer the opportunity the Lord had given
us."
At the time, Holston was preparing to send the Revs. Boo
and Phyllis Hankins to Sudan for a two-year assignment.
Although churches were generous in supporting Sudan
since Holston formed a covenant relationship with the East
Africa Conference, there wasn't enough money to build a
house where the Hankins could live. Holston was forced to
rent an UMCOR house for their extended stay.
Swanson says he told Wright about the need for a residence,
and her answer was, "I believe God wants me to build the
house in Sudan." Holston leaders were euphoric. They
immediately wanted to announce the gift at last year's
Annual Conference. Wright, still raw with grief, wouldn't
allow it. "I couldn't handle people then," she says (and even a
year later, had to be coaxed to share the story). "The gift was
done at God's calling. It wasn't for the public." She wasted no
time, however, in donating the money through the Holston
Conference Foundation and joining in construction plans. She
quickly named the dwelling-to-be, "The Captain's House."
Wright smiles when she explains why the "The Captain" is
more than a career title, but the name that his five
grandchildren knew him by ("Cap'n"). His wife and children
also used it as an affectionate nickname. The four children,
now ages 31 to 41, gave their blessing for a Sudan house to
be built in their father's memory. Wright's 86-year-old
father, Johnny Bird, is handcrafting a wooden plaque that
will bear The Captain's name on the front door.
WIDE-OPEN OPPORTUNITY
Despite her illness, the pastor made plans to travel to Sudan
soon after Annual Conference. She was placed on a
February mission team that was investigating the possibility
of building an orphanage. Instead of being overwhelmed by
the need in Sudan, Wright was buoyed. "Wow, it's such a
wide-open opportunity, like a clean slate," she says. "Such a
beautiful people, an open country. You can see God's hand
there. I would love to live there and work." (Her doctor
won't permit it.)
During her visit, the guest house site was dedicated with the
singing of a Sudanese children's choir. The celebration
included the burial of a time capsule containing a stone and
a pair of wings. The stone pendant came from the Sea of
Galilee; Walt Wright always wore it atier a Society of Biblical
Studies trip with his wife. The wings were part of his pilot's
uniform.
"If Walt had been at the dedication in Sudan, he would have
been in the middle of the children's choir, singing and
clapping, because he was like that," his wife explained. "So,
the wings represent his travels around the world and his
love for people. The stone represents his love for the Lord."
Today, Wright lives alone in Hixson in a house on the
Chickamauga Creek. She's just returned from a trip to East
Africa with Delphine Swanson and Libby Dearing (the
decorating divas) to pick out and deliver furnishings for the
Captain's House.
Last year, her prognosis was not good. Now, she says bluntly,
"I'm living on borrowed time ... I was supposed to be dead six
months ago." She endures chemotherapy each month with
little complaint. "I have two options," she explains. "I can do
the chemo, or I can die in six months. I love my grandchildren
and children, and I enjoy being with my friends. I don't see it
as particularly heroic that I chose to live."
Missing Walt, she admits, is sometimes harder. "He was the
one who was there for me when I had cancer the first time,"
she says. "Grieving is cyclical. It's the little things that you miss
most. Like Sunday after church, that was our life together.
Now, coming back to an empty house ..."
Holston leaders say they are awed by Wright's witness -
and excited about the Captain's House, as well as other
Sudan projects Wright wants to jump-start.
"It is my hope that future teams will be able to stay at the
Captain's House and save us money on lodging for those
teams," Swanson said. "It will provide a central meeting place
for the pastors of Sudan and a place where learning can take
place. The house will also be a significant signal to the people
of southern Sudan that we are in this for the long haul."
"I am so touched by her generosity and all the hurt and loss,"
says Roger Redding, executive director of the Holston
Conference Foundation. "Most of us just take for granted so
much about life. She has inspired so many, and I hope
her journey and example will encourage others." That would
be alright with her, says Wright, as long as people remember.
This story originally appeared in THE CALL and is reprinted and updated by permission. Special Thanks to Annette Spence and to Linda Bird Wright for allowing us to share this story.
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