It’s been a year since the Rev. Denise Hygh died of cancer, but it’s still difficult for Hazel Burgert to accept it.

A year after her death, the Rev. Denise Hygh's work as the pastor at Central United Methodist Church, 1501 Mass., is being honored by the congregation. The church will have a memorial tree planting for Hygh at noon Sunday.

“I still have people say to me, ‘I miss Denise,'” Burgert says. “I still miss Denise. I lost a good friend.”

Members of Central United Methodist Church, where Hygh served as pastor, have spent the last 12 months grieving. This weekend, they’ll mark the anniversary by planting a tree in memory of Hygh, whom they credit for revitalizing their 200-member church.

Older church members die – it’s a part of congregational life anywhere. But it’s different when the pastor, the one members look to for guidance in times of grief, is the one they’re grieving.

Hygh, 41, took the job at CUMC, 1501 Mass., in 2004. She was a single black mother serving in a nearly all-white congregation, and is believed to be the first black female pastor to serve in Lawrence.

At the time, her multiple myeloma – a rare blood disease – was in remission. But signs started returning in 2005.

“There were times you could tell she wasn’t feeling good, but she never let it show,” says church member John Ruckman. “She was at every meeting she could be at.”

Eventually, though, Hygh had to step down from her position. In January 2006, she went to a cancer treatment center in Tulsa, and she never returned to work.

She died April 6, 2006. Church members gathered that afternoon for an informal service.

“That was traumatic – that day in particular,” says church member Nadine Snider. “I was naive enough to believe she was going to fight, and if anyone could do it, she would.”

Beloved leader

That attitude was probably attributed to Hygh’s personality, which one member describes as “flamboyant.”

She admonished members when they didn’t sing loudly enough, even making them sing music again if it wasn’t up to her standards. She wanted them to sway to the music. She wanted them to answer “good morning” loudly when she said it to them from the altar.

In short, she was passionate about worship.

Hygh was passionate about the church’s programming, too. She had started a “visioning” process to develop new classes and other offerings at the church.

She also came to her post on the heels of a pastor who wasn’t popular, members say. That combination endeared her to the church quickly.

“I know people thought, ‘Why would we have all these plans – why would God let us have all these plans – and not let Denise finish them?'” says Shirley Edgerton, a retired Methodist pastor and church member, who helped fill in the pastor role in Hygh’s absence.

“Biblically, very rarely do people get to finish what they started. Denise was called to light a fire, to be a spark.”

Pastoral care

After Hygh announced her leave of absence, the Rev. Gayla Rapp served as a part-time interim pastor at the church.

At the time, Rapp was director of Wesley KU, the Methodist ministry at KU. She now is pastor at Metropolitan Avenue United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Kan.

“Denise was a really good friend of mine,” Rapp says. “I shared in the journey with (church members). I knew Denise and appreciated what she had done with that church.”

Rapp says she heard the same types of questions she hears following many deaths.

“It’s ‘How does this happen?’ and ‘How could God let this happen?'” Rapp recalls. “Part of what we’re supposed to do as a church is let people ask those questions and work through those. We’re not here to give easy answers, pat people on the head and say, ‘It’ll be OK.'”

Having someone in that leadership role helped, says church member Karen Curl. She says Rapp would ask people during church meetings if they had any favorite stories they wanted to tell about Hygh.

“Gayla helped us tremendously,” she says. “The church was grieving.”

‘New start’

At the time Rapp left CUMC in June, she says, church members were still grieving Hygh but started to look to the future.

“I think the change I saw was glimmers among them that it’s going to be OK,” Rapp says. “I don’t know if I can say people were ready for a new pastor, but they were ready for a new start. I don’t think grief is that short-lived.”

The Rev. Maria Campbell arrived as the church’s new full-time pastor in July 2006. Campbell says she made an effort to deal with the grief issues.

“It was intentional,” she says. “I was aware there were certain people in the congregation who were particularly close to Denise, and I made opportunities available to have one-on-one conversations with them. It’s also organic – sitting in meetings or small groups, and her name would come up. I could tell there was grief in the congregation.”

If there was a blessing in Hygh’s death, Campbell says, it was that members grew closer.

“They were not prepared for her leaving,” Campbell says. “They felt great pain and surprise when she passed. I saw God’s hand in the way they were growing together as a faith community. When there’s any kind of tragedy or major event like this, it frequently brings people together.”

‘Visionary’ leader

Members say, even a year after her death, Hygh’s work is still vibrantly alive at CUMC.

Hygh wanted a mission program developed. A third team from the church will travel to the Gulf Coast for hurricane relief work in June.

She also wanted more activities for families. The “Why Not Wednesdays?” studies bring people to the church each week.

“She was a visionary,” says Edgerton, the former pastor and current church member. “She got people to look ahead and not look back. The things she started are still here. We’re still looking ahead.”

And that’s why this weekend’s memorial service is appropriate, says church member Becky Combs.

“It’s like planting that tree,” she says. “She planted the seeds, and now they’re growing.”