The Funeral of Walter Herring (28 May 2016)

A Thanksgiving for the Life of Walter Alexander Herring

24 June 1939 – 9 May 2016

Click here to listen to the Homily as preached at the Funeral.

The Gathering of the Community

Gathering Music

Processional Hymn

‘All Creatures of Our God and King’  Common Praise #355 vv. 1, 5, 6, 7

Greeting

We lift up our eyes to the hills;

from where is our help to come?

Our help comes from the Lord,

the maker of heaven and earth.

The Lord shall preserve us from all evil;

our God shall keep us safe.

The Lord shall watch over our going out and our coming in,

from this time forth for ever more.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray.

God of all consolation,

in your unending love and mercy

you turn the darkness of death

into the dawn of new life.

Show compassion to your people in their sorrow.

Be our refuge and our strength

to lift us from the darkness of grief

to the peace and light of your presence.

Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,

by dying for us, conquered death

and by rising again, restored life.

May we go forward eagerly to meet him,

and after our life on earth

be reunited with Walter and all our sisters and brothers

where every tear will be wiped away.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, the Lord.  Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The First Reading

A reading from the Wisdom of Solomon (3.1-9).

            ¹ But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.  ² In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, ³ and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.  ⁴ For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality.  ⁵ Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; ⁶ like gold in the furnace he tried them,

and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.  ⁷ In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.  ⁸ They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.  ⁹ Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm

‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’  Common Praise #519

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (14.1-7).

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

            ¹ [Jesus said to his disciples,] “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God, believe also in me.  ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.  ⁴ And you know the way to the place where I am going.”  ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way?”  ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  ⁷ If you know me, you will know my Father also.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Family Reflections

Homily

The Apostles’ Creed

The Deacon invites those who wish to share in the recitation of the Creed.

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ,

God’s only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.  Amen.

The Prayers of the Community

The Litany

Trusting in God’s compassion, let us offer our prayers, saying, ‘God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.’  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

God of grace and glory, we thank you for Walter, who was so near and dear to us, and who has now been taken from us.  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

We thank you for the friendship he gave and for the strength and peace he brought.  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

We thank you for the love he offered and received while he was with us on earth.  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

We pray that nothing good in Walter’s life will be lost, but will be of benefit to the world; that all that was important to him will be respected by those who follow; and that everything in which he was great will continue to mean much to us now that he is dead.  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

We ask that he may go on living in his family and friends; in their hearts and minds, in their courage and their consciences.  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

We ask you that we who were close to him may now, because of his death, be even closer to each other, and that we may, in peace and friendship here on earth, always be deeply conscious of your promise to be faithful to us in death.  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

We pray for ourselves, who are severely tested by this death, that we do not try to minimize this loss, or seek refuge from it in words alone, and also that we do not brood over it so that it overwhelms us and isolates us from others.  God our refuge, hide us under the shadow of your wings.

May God grant us courage and confidence in the new life of Christ.  We ask this in the name of the risen Lord.  Amen.

The Exchange of the Peace

May the peace of the risen Christ be with you all.

And also with you.

The Holy Communion

Hymn of Preparation

‘Amazing Grace’  Common Praise #352

The Prayer over the Gifts

Let us pray.

God of mercy,

accept the worship we offer this day.

Increase, we pray, our faith,

deepen our hope,

and confirm us in your eternal love.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.

The Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; we give you thanks and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord, whose victorious rising from the dead has given to us the hope of resurrection and the promised of eternal life.  Therefore with angels and archangels and all who have served you in every age, we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, you have brought us this far along the way.  In times of bitterness you did not abandon us, but guided us into the path of love and light.  In every age you sent prophets to make known your loving will for all humanity.  The cry of the poor has become your own cry; our hunger and thirst for justice is your own desire.  In the fullness of time, you sent your chosen servant to preach good news to the afflicted, to break bread with the outcast and despised, and to ransom those in bondage to prejudice and sin.

In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:  Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.  Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:  This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.  Do this for the remembrance of me.

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.  Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.

Remembering, therefore, his death and resurrection, we await the day when Jesus shall return to free all the earth from the bonds of slavery and death.  Come, Lord Jesus! 

Send your Holy Spirit, our advocate, to fill the hearts of all who share this bread and cup with courage and wisdom to pursue love and justice in all the world.  Come, Spirit of freedom!

Join our prayers and praise with your prophets and martyrs of every age, that, rejoicing in the hope of the resurrection, we might live in the freedom and hope of your Son.  Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, now and forever.  Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,

we are bold to say,

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread

This is the bread which has come down from heaven.

Those who eat this bread will live for ever.

These are the gifts of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

The Communion of the Community

The Sending Forth of the Community

The Prayer after Communion

Let us pray.

God of love,

you have fed us at the table of your kingdom.

Teach us to trust, without fear,

in your eternal goodness and mercy.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.

The Commendation Hymn

‘We Walk by Faith, and Not by Sight’  Common Praise #244

The Commendation

Into your hands, O merciful Saviour,

we commend your servant Walter.

Acknowledge, we pray, a sheep of your own fold,

a lamb of your own flock,

a sinner of your own redeeming.

Receive him into the arms of your mercy,

into the blessed rest of everlasting peace,

and into the glorious company of the saints in light.  Amen.

The Committal Hymn

During the singing of the Hymn the Family and Community join in processing to the Memorial Garden for the committal of ashes.

‘Alleluia!  The Strife Is O’er’  Common Praise #212

The Committal

Everyone the Father gives me will come to me; I will never turn away anyone who believes in me.

The God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give new life to our mortal bodies through the indwelling Spirit.

In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life

through our Lord Jesus Christ,

we commend to almighty God our brother Walter,

and we commit his remains to their resting place;

earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

the bless him and keep him,

the Lord make his face to shine upon him

and be gracious to him,

the Lord lift up his countenance upon him

and give him peace.  Amen.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, with whom still live the spirits of those who die in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful are in joy and felicity:  we give you heartfelt thanks for the good examples of all your servants, who having finished their course in faith, now find rest and refreshment.  May we, with all who have died in the true faith of your holy name, have perfect fulfilment and bliss in your eternal and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord.

And let light perpetual shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be amongst you and remain with you always.  Amen.

Go forth in the name of Christ.

Thanks be to God.