| ~ Memorial Samples ~ |
| Secular Remembrance Eulogies, Readings, Candle Lightings and Special Requests may be added "I wish that we were all here under more favorable circumstances, but things are both what they are, and what we will choose to make of them. The best that we can do here tonight is to try to comfort one another and possibly to gain some insight or understanding that we had not before. I had the honor of being with Julie and Thomas on their wedding day. And one of the questions we ask ourselves on days like today is "Would you give up the moment of your greatest joy never to know your deepest sorrows?" Never to know pain and loss would mean that we lived a life that had never been blessed with anything we cared enough for to morn it's passing. For me never to have truly lived is the worst fate imaginable. Death is a small enough price to pay for having truly lived and loved and made a difference in so many lives. But how difficult it is for those who will miss the physical presence that we were blessed to know. The hole that is left in our day to day never quite goes away, but fortunately we have the memory of all the good times that came before it. Thomas Markum was a unique and multifaceted individual that all of you here tonight knew a different aspect of. Now is the time for us to piece together the patchwork quilt that was his life. To wrap it around our selves and together take comfort in the sharing of stories. To laugh, and to cry together, and to add another facet to the diamond that was this man. To try to sum up who a human being was in the short time that our modern rituals take is impossible. Yet it is our obligation to try this process with something more than we had when it began. This is perhaps the last chance that those of you who were Thomas's friends, family and loved ones will have together. There is a quote that goes; "We are all but actors, cast in the role of someone else's perception of ourselves, in the screen play of their lives." Children will always see their parents as parents, Parents will always see children as their children, Husbands, wives sisters, brothers, best friends, all have a different side to share. All of you have a different side of Tom to share, and tonight we are given the opportunity share these. Do you remember something he said to you that was uniquely him or that changed your life? Was it a habit or saying that'll stick in your head and remind you of him? What was his favorite color? Did he have one? Does anyone know these things? Please, I invite you to come and tell us all a story of who Tom uniquely was to you, and lets let the healing begin. |
| Christian Grave Side Opening Prayer "Eternal God, let your presence rest upon us as we give thanks for Stephen Hernson's life. We thank you for the days that you gave him and for the blessing that he was to his family and friends. May his memory live long among those who love him and be a source of strength to them. May it help them to find the courage to face the changes that life presents as we go on from here, grateful to have known Stephen. Grant those who most deeply feel this loss the comfort of your presence. Enable each of us here today the ability to minister to one another through the difficult times, with the comfort and consolation, the laughter and joy, that the memory of all the good times shall bring. This we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God for ever and ever, Amen. Gospel Readings As Christians we are taught to embrace our suffering. A life that knows no pain or loss would be the emptiness of a life never blessed with anything worth while enough to morn it`s loss. We are also taught to celebrate the risen Lord, and the Bible offers us much comfort by assuring us that Heaven awaits us. John's Gospel 14:2 reminds us; "In my Father's house are many mansions;… I go to prepare a place for you" We are told in 1st Corinthians 2:9; "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him" Today I would like to read to you a passage that we hear less often. It is from the Gospel of Luke 10:38-42 "Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, `Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, `Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." The story of Martha and Mary is more than a story of two sisters who lived two thousand years ago in a far off land. It is a warning to us about the duality of human nature. In our modern world the quest for the brass ring pulls hard on us all, and the definition of success is often weighed in the material rather than the spiritual context of our lives. Time is something that we measure out in increments and allot to those in our lives, often in little accordance with how irreplaceable and precious they themselves are to us. But I ask you, what good is a mansion that is not filled with love and joy? In the story of Martha and Mary we are reminded that the only things we may truly own, are the gifts of the spirit. Mary knew that Jesus would only be with them for a short time. So she savored and drank in of every moment they had with him. Mary would forever remember how her time with Jesus touched her heart. Martha on the other hand set a beautiful table. These monuments here are all symbols of the affection surviving in the hearts of the families and friends who loved these people. But those who had these stones carved, did they feel that they were able to give as generously of their time and of their spirits as they would have had they known there wouldn't be a tomorrow? Stephen Hernson lives not here among these acres of strangers His spirit dwells in each of you and wants to be celebrated as the love that you share for one another, as a part of the continuing and daily celebration of the life that you each have been given. His spirit dwells in the mansions of heaven where the all encompassing light of God's love shines on him through what we perceive as day and night. For he who had now glimpsed eternity, you will all be joined in what seems the blink of an eye. Yet for you there is still work and play, tears of sorrow and tears of joy. There may come days when you want nothing more than to just be with him again, but there will also be those days that hold in them life's little miracles, where you can't believe how blessed you are just to be you. And when it is God's will that all of those days have come to pass, then shall you all together dwell in the light of God's love. Closing Prayer May the Lord be with you all And also with you Let us now bow our heads in prayer, Heavenly father we come to you on this bitter sweet day Certain that the soul of Steven Hernson rests in your embrace We ask that you look mercifully upon those gathered here and lift their grief That they may look beyond it, to see the many blessings That so abundantly grace all of their lives We thank you for the gift of family and for the knowledge That in your kingdom of everlasting life There shall be eternal reunion and the joy of completion This we pray to you through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God for ever and ever, Amen. I leave you today with the simple message that God, and I am sure Stephen, would want you to hear. I ask you to love one another in their name." |
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