Dear Margherita,
Yes. The things you mention that accrue to spirit. Jerry was a spiritual man. But who knows what Jerry would have been like if he had not known Jesus, what kind of spirit he would have exhibited. By the time I met him he’d been influenced, shaped by the knowledge of God. He was not just funny and outgoing; his humor lifted weights off people, and his extroversion was winsome. Before coming to Western Seminary, he had attended Moody Bible Institute in the midwest area of the United States. Dwight Moody had been an influential evangelist of a bygone era, and the institute attempted to carry on with his legacy. So, Jerry was definitely infused with the Holy Spirit and called to the ministry. His body gave up the ghost, but Jerry himself will never die. 

There is a song, a worship song, in which one line, for a moment, in a few words, captures the peace Jerry knows now. It says, “The war will be over.” Jesus told his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble…” And we all do. We strive against, and often we find ourselves striving against our own selves, the worst parts of ourselves. He doesn’t have to do that anymore. The war for Jerry is over.

Thank you, Margherita, for your kind thoughts. And you are so right about death not nullifying. The prophet Hosea spoke for God and said, "“I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?”  Paul of Tarsus wrote to the Christian living in Corinth and rephrased that into "“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” He was talking to them about the power of Jesus to overcome the results of sin in a person’s life, and the freedom from the finality of the death of a condemned soul. The war with sin is over for Jerry. 

Warm regards,
Phil



> On Jul 26, 2021, at 2:29 AM, Margherita Spagnuolo - Istituto di Gestalt HCC Italy <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Dear Phil 
> Your words express a dimension that death can never nullify: love, respect, faith, lightness. 
> Thank you for sharing this, and making Jerry known among us. 
> May he rest in peace
> Margherita
> 
> Margherita 
>  
> 
> Il giorno lun 26 lug 2021 alle 03:52 Philip Brownell <[log in to unmask]> ha scritto:
> Greatness is measured in various ways. I would like to laud my friend Jerry Beres. He caught COVID about two weeks ago and died this weekend. Jerry had a great sense of humor. He loved people. I met him in seminary. We waited tables together while going through our studies, and we both served internships at the same large, inner city church close in on the southeast side of Portland, Oregon. He encouraged me and helped me get back on my fast when I became a single parent of three young kids and it looked as if my life hat hit a solid wall. He visited me when I was doing my clinical internship at a large metropolitan hospital. We talked about the integration of psychology and Christianity he became interested in Gestalt psychotherapy, but we still talked about the study of scripture and preaching. Jerry Beres was all that a pastor should be.  I am sad to lose him. He is one of those kinds of friends you make at one point and never lose. 
> 
> Phil
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> ______________
> Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.
> ______________ Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.

______________
Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.