Minister's Moment

Well, this isn’t the Minister’s Moment I had thought I would write this month, but here we are.

On Tuesday, August 25, Dolly Parton transitioned into life eternal. The legacy of what she left behind in this world is a testimony to a life of faith and the call to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

Dolly had a remarkable career in music, even being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. She didn’t think she deserved it, because she wasn’t a rocker, so she recorded a rock album. Though this might be a silly example, it says something larger about her character.

So many of us know about the good works she did in this world – the Imagination Library, which provides free books once a month to any child under the age of 5 who signs up (in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Australia); quietly funding the research at Vanderbilt University that allowed for the creation of the Moderna Covid vaccine; donating millions of dollars to the citizens of Sevier County, Tennessee, her home town, after the devastating fire in 2016. But, she did so many smaller, quieter things.

For example, every employee at Dollywood is eligible to receive 100% of their cost to attend college – tuition, fees, and books at over 100 different programs and 30 learning partners in fields like business, culinary arts, finance, and technology – through a program called GROW U. All employees, full-time, part-time, and seasonal, are eligible on day one. Dollywood also provides their employees with access to on-site healthcare, free meals when they are working a shift, and help to cover childcare costs.

She used the royalties she received from Whitney Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You” to help an underserved historically Black community in Nashville. She created programs in Sevier County that helped to lower the high school dropout rate from 30% to 6%. And she maintained sanctuaries for wildlife and abandoned animals, including creating a bald eagle sanctuary at Dollywood.

When she was asked about the good works she has done in this world, she still didn’t make a big deal about it. She said that is what she knew to do because of the faith she was taught, by her preacher grandfather, and by the care she saw her family give to one another and the world around us.

Dolly’s life of faith was deep but never outwardly forceful. She would talk about it. She would even lead Bible studies backstage with cast members when she made surprise visits to sing in shows at Dollywood. She prayed before every show. She never hid the importance of her life of faith, but instead …

She walked in the very footsteps of Jesus, which I believe is the strongest witness. She led with love, never asking anyone what they believed about God, or the church, or politics. Just offering a hand to hold, resources, unconditional care to all whom she encountered. Dolly Parton loved the people of God the way that God wants us to love. She reminded everyone that they are made in the Imago Dei, the very image of God, and that they are loved and accepted wholly and completely – just as we are.

Dolly’s legacy will live on in her music, yes, but I believe that her love and her walk of faith will be more deeply felt, even when we don’t realize it.

May Dolly’s memory always be a blessing, and may light perpetual shine upon her. And, may we all follow the challenge to be like Dolly, just as she followed the calling of all Christians – to be like and love like Jesus.