“In Sure and Certain Hope of the Resurrection” – Ima Jean Kidd: March 31, 1927 – May 1, 2017
In tears of gratitude for all that she has been to me, personally, and for all that she has been and done for our community and the world of Christendom, I write with news of Ima Jean Kidd’s death this morning, May 1, at 2:15 am. Details of her memorial, already very carefully planned, will be forthcoming.
Ima Jean, a member of The Park since 1959, served on the Elder Team, after several leadership roles. She remembered with joy serving as chair of the 175th anniversary celebration, and as co-chair of the 200th anniversary events. Her passions included liberation of persons with disabilities, advocacy for American Indians, and creative living in older years. Her obituary follows, below.
With faith that inspired several generations of the people she served and loved, Ima Jean looked with reverence and respect towards this day. On Easter Sunday, she walked into the church filled with her intrepid spirit to be part of the celebration of the resurrection. I give thanks that she was able to celebrate that same resurrection that holds her close to God for eternity. Death never wins, and Ima Jean would be the first to remind us of this.
As I reflect on her beautiful witness, I think of the insightful devotional reflection she shared with us just a few weeks ago, and thought you might like to be reminded, too.
A Special Lenten Reflection from Ima Jean Kidd, on her 90th Birthday
Friday, March 31, 2017
Psalm 130:1-8
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Reflection
Psalm 130 is one of several intimate conversations between the Psalmist and God. “From the depths I call out to you, God!” We are called into a deep discussion with a caring God. Not to worry about honest feelings, because trust is involved in our outpouring. We understand that God forgives. God gives us the courage to “pour out our souls”—our fears, guilt, failures, and anxieties—trusting that we complain in faith. At The Park in 2016 we began singing a new response created by Paul Vasile: it follows the confession, ’We are forgiven, loved and free. We’re washed anew and called to be….” The Lenten experience calls us “to be”—to hope, to change, to confront challenges, to move on in our spiritual journeys.
Prayer
Caring God, we come in prayer remembering your presence with the covenant people Israel and our own journeys through the years. We continue in confidence that when we lament “calling from the depths,” you hear. Amen.
I am stunned with the image of her having endless “intimate conversations” with God now.
Thank you, Ima Jean, for all that you were, are and will always be to us. Thank you, God, for giving us 90 years of her fierce and determined witness to your love. Thank you, Holy One, for defeating the power of death so that her spirit shall know no end. Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
Pax Christi,
Pastor Kaji
IMA JEAN KIDD, religious educator, died on May 1, 2017 in New York City, her home for 58 years.
Ima Jean Kidd was born March 31, 1927, to Julia Grace DeGraffenreid and Raymond Ellsworth Kidd, on a dairy farm near Blackwell, Oklahoma. The family moved shortly thereafter to Kansas, where she attended a one-room country school, followed by a small regional high school in Milford, Kansas, during the World War II years.
She attended Manhattan Christian College and Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, and graduated from Phillips Theological Seminary, then located in Enid, Oklahoma. After coming to NYC in 1959, she took courses at Hunter College, as well as Teachers College, Columbia University. Additional study included a six-week “Workshop on the Education of Exceptional Children,” sponsored by the University of Wisconsin, at the University of Oslo, Norway, in the summer of 1968. A sabbatical in 1978, included international visits to centers for special education and rehabilitation in West Germany, France, England, followed by participation in the First World Congress on Special Education, Stirling, Scotland.
She served on staff at First Christian Church, Great Bend, Kansas, and South Broadway Christian Church, Denver, Colorado. For 30 years she served on staff at the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC) in the USA, in its Education unit in NYC, with assignments for camps, conferences, retreats, and programs for persons with special needs.
The programs for outdoor education included sponsorship of leader training events, development of curriculum materials, and administrative guidelines. In 1983, 22 denominations participated in a six-year program, “Sow Seeds, Trust the Promise.”
During these years, she was involved with Geneva Point Center, an ecumenical center located on Lake Winnipesaukee, in New Hampshire, owned by the NCCC since 1915, that became independent in 1989. She served two terms on the board of trustees and chaired the 75th anniversary celebrations in 1994.
As a participant in the 1981 United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons, she participated in creating, developing, publishing guidelines for local churches – “Toward the Full Participation of All Disabled Persons in Church and Society.” A newsletter, “Embracing Diversity,” was published several times per year. In 2001, the Rev. Dr. Albert Herzog, Jr. Ph.D., a lecturer in sociology at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, researched the history of the NCCC with regard to persons with disabilities and the issues they raise for church and society.
In retirement, she worked during the 1990s as a volunteer pastoral partner for hospitality at her home church, Park Avenue Christian Church, NYC. She also served as chair of PACC’s 175th anniversary events, and as co-chair of events to observe the 200th year of the founding of what has become the longest continuing congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
During 2009 – 2011, she worked through closets and storage areas, to locate and organize archival materials, with guidance of Sara Harwell, Vice President of the Disciples Historical Society, together with technical assistance from student intern Evan Mastronardi. The collection has been named, “The Ima Jean Kidd Archives.” She has been called the “ubiquitous elder” because she is one of a few who knows almost everyone who has walked through the door of our church.
During Women’s History Month, March 2012, she received one of the GRANNIS awards for Outstanding Contributions to Church and Society. Park Avenue Christian Church established the Grannis award in honor of Elizabeth Grannis, an editor, ecumenist, pioneer woman suffragist, and active member of the congregation when it was located on W. 56th Street in New York City.
Coming out of a family genealogy of Cherokees, her passion has been for the plight of Native Americans. Since 2004, she has been a charter member of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
Another genealogical passion involved connecting with her mother’s DeGraffenreid family — having an offshoot with an African-American heritage. When the PACC Outreach department sponsored a storytelling series in 2000 on race/reconciliation themes, she shared her story of a chance meeting with Rev. Kermit DeGraffenreid. Both DeGraffenreid families trace their history back to Christopher DeGraffenreid, who helped Queen Anne of England found a colony in North Carolina. Kermit’s ancestor was a favorite slave of Christopher. As a result of this chance meeting, she participated in two reunions of African-American DeGraffenreids.
She is survived by two siblings: Marybelle Schreiner of Manhattan, Kansas, and Leon Kidd, of Forrest City, Arkansas, and several nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by a brother, Lyle Chan, who died in early childhood, and a sister, Helen Webb.
“Walking in the cornfields of Kansas, I dreamed of a larger world, and found a home in the largest city in the United States.”
Memorials may be made to Park Avenue Christian Church, New York City, or to Bette Midler’s tree planting initiative – New York Restoration Project.