On Sunday July 28, we celebrated the life of our friend, sister, and fellow MSIA minister and initiate Kim Elpers Guisinger here at Prana, the Home of the Traveler. I was lucky enough to be the MC for the afternoon, and was honored to be able to stand in service in that way.

It was a blessed event, with over 70 people attending, and many watching online. Her dear sister Jan (Elpers) Fedele and husband Tom led the crew in gratitude and acknowledgment, along with best buds Linda Joy and Michael, Troy, and Gigi Loizzo, Kim’s boyfriend Bob, Teri Breier, and Gail Allison (her trusty babe side-kicks!).

The slideshow Jan and Tom put together highlighted the beautiful life Kim lived over the years, and the Joanie Mitchell music set a very specific and wonderful tone. I was struck by how each of us, maybe especially those of us in the Movement, has had several lifetimes within this one life. Stepping forward and moving through, completing sometimes diverse agendas, in the service of finishing up our creations.

I met Kim somewhere around 1993 when I had just arrived fresh at Prana and she was volunteering, and applying to move in. I was on the Admissions Committee…funny as I’d just arrived. She didn’t end up moving in until several years later, but volunteered regularly and was around a lot. Later she ended up living here for 20 years, and also working for MSIA for 20 years too — although not the same years, as it happens. Kim was a beloved member of the family, a fixture at Prana, and an especially valued member of the Live Streaming Department at MSIA in the last few years.

She loved singing and contributed her voice at many of our events like the Thanksgivings held here. She also had a great sense of humor, and we would joke a lot. When she knew she was sick the last couple of months we just talked casually several times. One time she called and asked how my partner had dealt with his illness when it was happening, and I was able to share his strength and fortitude with her. It was like our Souls were communing just underneath in these chats, while on the surface it was business as usual.

I told her what was happening in the office, she shared requests for Light for a procedure or doctor visit. It was calm and caring, and sometimes chatty or funny. What I experienced as just a Soul-to-Soul honoring of each other. No talk of loss, no real goodbyes. Basically the undercurrent of our communication was It’s All Love, and It’s All Good, and It’s Good to Know You, and I Will Always Know and Love You.

Thanks Kim, for being our sister and friend and family, for all you gave in your work with MSIA and in your life, and just for being who you are. Eternally grateful.