Funeral Ceremonies
Requiem
Requiem for the Unborn
By Carolyn Young
2004-11-28
Requiem for an Unborn - March 8, 1995
(set up the sacred space and light a candle for everyone in attendance. Make sure there are plenty of tissues available.)
Many of us know the pain of losing a child. And if we are fortunate to have not known, as women we can still empathize and grieve. A life stopped before it was started can more distressing than other any deaths. Body and spirit stiffen against sorrow, but to aid the release of the grief of those who mourn, we must let our own awareness flow free.
We gather tonight to say good-bye to _______, a child-but not a child; truly "real" to but one among us. Whether the one we mourn was beloved or a stranger, we have the right and the need to grieve because her fate is our own.
She has left behind empty arms, not just her parents', but all who would have cherished her and nurtured her and assisted her in becoming a woman. We hope she accomplished what she had set for herself.
(Let everyone tell what they would have liked to have done with _______. When each person is finished speaking they blow out their candle and wish Godspeed to the soul.)
I would like to have taken her for walks in the woods and shown her the wonders there . . . and let her show me the wonders of God's creations through a child's eyes again.
(When all are finished ground the energies and open the space.)
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Poetry
Please read through these poems at your leisure and enjoy the creativity of our community. If you would like to post an original poem of your own, please submit your poem with your name and email address to poetry@ulcseminary.org. Our Universal Life Church ministers have created some beautiful poetry to share.
Funeral Ceremonies
Funeral for a Devoted Christian Wife
By Rev. Dennis William Hawkins
2007-03-07
Funeral Service For A
Devoted Christian Wife
Hello everyone and welcome. On behalf of ___, and the rest of the family, I would like to thank you for coming. Your being here, is a tribute ______.
Our sister _____ has gone to her rest in the peace of Christ. May the Lord now welcome her to the table of God=s children in heaven. With faith and hope in eternal life, let us assist her with our prayers. Let us also pray to our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for ourselves who mourn today that we maybe reunited with our sister ___, when we meet Jesus Christ in his Glory.
This is the will of the one who sent me, says the Lord, that I should not lose anyone of what he gave me, but that I should raise them up on the last day.
Let us Pray!
Lord Jesus Christ, by your own three days in the grave, you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you and so made the grave a sign of hope that promises resurrection even as it claims our mortal bodies. Grant that our sister Winifred may sleep her in peace until you awaken her to glory for you are the resurrections and the life. Then she will see you face to face and in your light will see light and know the splendor of God. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Reading of Obituary
2 Timothy 4
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 (2 Ti 4:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
If eternal life is the reward for selfless devotion to marriage, then blessed is she whose ashes we lay to rest today. ____was a selfless and devoted wife, even to the forgetting of herself. She gave herself over completely to the institution of marriage, and her husband. ____, denied herself to put her husband first and foremost in her life. This is a living example of the pure love of Christ, and shall not go unrewarded.
Isaiah 6
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 (Is 25:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
May this woman who loved others more than herself, be taken the mountain of the Lord where she will live in eternity on the high peak of the Love of Christ. Where she will rest, free from illness, pain and the limits of this mortal body, face to face with our Lord.
For our sister ___, Let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me shall live, even in death and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
Lord, you joined Adam and Eve, in Marriage, while in Paradise, before sin and death entered the world. Be with ___ husband, and grant him comfort. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, you consoled Martha and Mary in their distress, draw near to us who mourn ___, and dry the tears of those you weep. Lord have Mercy.
You wept at the grave of Lazarus, your friend, comfort us in our sorrow. Christ have Mercy.
You raised the dead to life, give to our sister ___ eternal life. Lord have Mercy.
Our sister was washed in baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit. Give her fellowship with all your saints. Christ have Mercy.
And now ___, may the angels lead you into paradise, may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you into the kingdom of God.
Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, bless this grave and hallow it, protect it, until the time appointed for the body to be resurrected and reunited with the spirit. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Let us pray:
Eternal God,
you made the union of man and woman a sign of the bond between Christ and his church. Grant peace and mercy to ___, who was united in love with ___. May the care and devotion of her life on earth find a lasting reward in heaven. Look kindly on her children, family and friends as they turn to your compassion and love. Strengthen their faith and lighten their loss. We pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Now as we prepare to leave this hallowed ground, May Almighty God bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:? 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. 1995
Reverend Dennis William Hawkins
Unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado