I was about to email Laurel Gasque to request an endorsement for a book on spiritual mentoring I am writing. But before I could, I received the following news from Susan, a common friend.
A few hours ago Michelle Gasque went to visit her mother (her “mum” as she would say) and discovered she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. Laurel was 82 and had been in somewhat fragile health. But her mind and wit were strong!
I can only describe my response to the news in cliches: hit me like a ton of bricks, stunned, shocked, sad, etc.
Bernice and I were planning to spend an extended time in Vancouver. I was planning to apply for a pastor-in-residence programme in Regent College. It was too late to apply for it this year, so we were looking forward to next year. When in Vancouver we wanted to visit with dear friends, Laurel and her daughter Michelle were at the top of the list. Now it is not to be.
Neither will I get her endorsement for my book on mentoring. Her endorsement would have been significant. Laurel and her late husband Ward were important mentors in my life, in my time at Regent College (’80s) and the years since. They modelled for me what it meant to be a mentor. They loved me and later Bernice, with generous love. They encouraged us to grow and opened doors for ministry for us.
Ward’s areas of interest were the ministry of the laity, and New Testament studies. Laurel was a scholar in her own right. She was an art historian and her primary mission was the promotion of the arts in the church, a ministry more needed than ever. Those who have been touched by her passion for the arts will now have to carry on that mission.
When I think of Laurel, two words come to mind. The first is commitment. As her daughter Michelle said, Laurel was “a force of nature”. She went all out for her convictions and the people she cared for. She didn’t suffer fools gladly. In any debate with her, she would not raise her voice, but you encountered steel.
The second word that comes to mind when I think of Laurel is generosity. She and Ward showered love on their friends. Once when I was in Tyndale University, Toronto, to do a DMin course, Laurel heard I was in town (I was based in Malaysia then). She had a room in Tyndale and was involved in graduate ministry for Inter-Varsity, Canada. She invited me to participate in a symposium she was hosting. After the meeting she took me out for lunch and we had a good conversation about all sorts of things. As a friend, she “saw” me, she opened doors of ministry for me, and she fed me. In a world enamoured with the next app for communication, she loved people the old-fashioned way. She was the kind of friend who made space in their life for you expecting nothing in return.
Laurel, I realised I didn’t thank you quite enough for your care for us. For a time our conversations were focused on Ward and his health. Being far apart didn’t help. I was really looking forward to catching up with you and Michelle during our next trip to Vancouver. I am sad that won’t happen now, even as I know we will meet again further on up the road. Goodbye dear sister, mentor, and friend. You have touched many lives in your sojourn on earth. You have touched mine.