One of the most loving things we can do for our families is to ensure that we have wills, medical directives, and funeral plans so that these tasks are not left to those who are grieving.
Several of us met on Tuesday, October 20th with Pastor Kristine for a funeral planning workshop. We went through the service that is in our Book of Common Prayer and talked about the options for scriptures, hymns, and prayers. The goal is for everyone to have funeral plans on file in the office, so that our loved ones might have peace of mind having had this done in accordance with our personal wishes.
“The liturgy for the dead is an Easter liturgy. It finds all meaning in the resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we too, shall be raised.
“The liturgy, therefore, is characterized by joy, in the certainty that ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
“This joy, however, does not make human grief unchristian. The very love we have for each other in Christ brings deep sorrow when we are parted by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend. So, while we rejoice that one we love has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow in sympathy with those who mourn.” – BCP 507