INSPIRATIONAL READINGS FOR FUNERAL AND

INSPIRATIONAL READINGS
FOR FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL SERVICES

"When death shall come and the spirit, freed, shall mount the air, and wander
afar in that great no-where, it shall go as it came, freed from sorrow, sin and
shame; and naked and bare, through the upper air shall go alone to that great
no-where. Hinder not its onward way, grieve not o'er its form of clay, for the spirit,
freed now from clod, shall go alone to meet its God".

Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind pg. 389

We live by faith alone,
walking softly in the great unknown,
accepting that which cannot be postponed,
believing that what is yet to be seen
is the substance of our waking dream.

~ Rev. Glenn Chaffin

To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold
infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour.

~ William Blake

Endless Time
Time is endless in thy hands, my lord.
There is none to count thy minutes.
Days and nights pass and ages bloom and fade like flowers.
Thou knowest how to wait.
Thy centuries follow each other perfecting a small wild flower.
We have no time to lose,
and having no time we must scramble for a chance.
We are too poor to be late.
And thus it is that time goes by
while I give it to every querulous man who claims it,
and thine altar is empty of all offerings to the last.
At the end of the day I hasten in fear lest thy gate be shut;
but I find that yet there is time.

~ R. Tagore

REMEMBER
REMEMBER me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood,
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

~ W. H. Auden

The Prayer of Protection
The light of God surrounds you,
The love of God enfolds you,
The power of God protects you,
The presence of God watches over you.
Wherever you are, God is.

“If I should ever leave you whom I love to go along the Silent Way, grieve not, nor
speak of me with tears; but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you there.
(I’d come, I’d come, could I but find a way! But would not tears and grief be
barriers?) And when you hear a song or see a bird I loved, please do not let the
thought of me be sad, for I am loving you just as I always have. You were so
good to me! There are so many things I wanted still to do, so many things to say
to you. Remember that I did not fear. It was just leaving you that was so hard to
face. We cannot see Beyond, but this I know: I loved you so, ‘twas heaven here
with you”!

~ Isla Paschal Richardson

The Traveler
He has put on invisibility.
Dear Lord, I cannot see --
But this I know, although the road ascends
And passes from my sight,
That there will be no night;
That You will take him gently by the hand
And lead him on
Along the road of life that never ends,
And he will find it is not death but dawn.
I do not doubt that You are there as here,
And You will hold him dear.

Our life did not begin with birth,
It is not of the earth;
And this that we call death, it is no more
Than the opening and closing of a door --
And in Your house how many rooms must be
Beyond this one where we rest momentarily.

Dear Lord, I thank you for the faith that frees,
The love that knows it cannot lose its own;
The love that, looking through the shadows, sees
That You and him and I are ever one!

~ James Dillet Freeman

High Flight

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high un-trespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

~ John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

[In December 1941, Pilot Officer John G. Magee, a 19-year-old American serving
with the Royal Canadian Air Force in England, was killed when his Spitfire

collided with another aircraft inside a cloud. Several months before his death, he
composed his immortal sonnet "High Flight," a copy of which he fortunately
mailed to his parents in the U.S.A.]

Taps
The lyrics are ...

Day is done. Gone the sun,
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky,
All is well. Safely rest.
God is nigh.

Fading light, dims the sight.
And a star, gems the sky, gleaming bright,
From afar, drawing nigh,
falls the night.

Thanks and praise, for our days.
'neath the sun, 'neath the stars, 'neath the sky,
as we go, this we know,
God is nigh.

AND THAT IS DEATH

(perhaps by Henry Van Dyke)

I stand upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to
the morning breeze and moves softly out to the blue ocean. She is an object of
beauty and strength. I stand and look at her until at length she hangs like a
speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with one
another. Then someone at my side exclaims – “Look, she’s gone”!

Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast
and hull as she ever was. Her diminished size lies in me, not her. And at the
very moment when someone at my side exclaims, “Look, she’s gone”, there are
other eyes eagerly watching her approach, and other voices ready to take up the
glad shout, “Look, she’s coming ”! And that is death.

“Life is eternal; love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is
nothing save the limit of our sight”.

~ Raymond Rossiter

SILVER WINGS
The past, it taught me well
And sometimes though I fell,
It’s plain to see,
The lessons were for me.
So let it be,
They came to set me free.

If God’s plan for me is to reach higher,
I accept the call, that’s my desire.
For within my heart, the everlasting dwells.

‘Twas fate that showed me how,
To profit in the now.
The game of Life,
Is stepping past the strife.
So let it be,
It’s come to set us free.

Let me voice my plea,
And let me touch my destiny.
Fly me, fly me, on silver wings,
To the place where angels sing.

~ Stuart Wilde

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awake in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there. I did not die.

~ Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,

I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.

~ Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am the song that will never end.
I am the love of family and friend.
I am the child who has come to rest
In the arms of the Father who knows him best.

When you see the sunset fair,
I am the scented evening air.
I am the joy of a task well done.
I am the glow of the setting sun.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!

~ Wilbur Skeels

I DID NOT DIE
Do not stand by my grave and grieve.
I am not there, I did not leave.
For I’m that distant shining star.
I’m all around you, never far.
I am the sparkle in children’s eyes.
I paint the blue in the autumn skies.
And in those cool sweet summer eves,
I hide in the shadows the sunshine weaves.
Yes together we laughed and cried,
But now I'm ever at your side.
For as long as I am in your heart,
We'll never really be apart.
So live your life and do be gay,
And look forward to that day,
When somewhere just around the bend,
We will surely meet again.

~ Rosalie Ferrer Kramer

“I imagine a person’s life is like a beautifully decorated balloon, tethered by a
cord to the earth. It is buffeted by every breeze and strains at the restraint with
sometimes-harsh movements. Suddenly, a moment comes when the cord is
released and the balloon lifts! No longer fighting the wind: it is lifted high upon it,
graceful and dancing with heavenly movements. From an earthly point of view it
becomes smaller and smaller until it fades from sight. I fell my loss until I
remember that the balloon itself is not becoming smaller as it lifts, but larger and
larger until at some point it bursts the last vestige of its earthly life and merges
with the highest atmosphere. The essence of that balloon, what made it a
balloon, becomes totally free and part of the air that touches my face, the power
that moves the clouds, even my very breath. In the same way, a soul, merges
with the Omnipresent Creator of Life, and is part of the Goodness of God. So
they will always be, in some part, present with each of us, as God is present with
us now”.

~ Rev. Maureen Christopher, R.Sc.F.

THE ROSE BEYOND THE WALL
A rose once grew where all could see,
Sheltered beside a garden wall,
And, as the days passed swiftly by,
It spread its branches, straight and tall.

One day, a beam of light shown through
A crevice that had opened wide.
The rose bent gently toward its warmth
Then passed beyond to the other side.

Now, you who deeply feel its loss
Be comforted; the rose blooms there.
Its beauty even greater now,
Nurtured by God’s own loving care.

John Quincy Adams was met by a contemporary on the streets of Boston on his
eightieth birthday, and was asked, “How is my friend, John Quincy Adams?” He
answered in words that have since become classic: “John Quincy Adams
himself is very well, thank you, but the house he lives in is badly dilapidated. It is
tottering on its foundations. The walls are badly shattered, and the roof is worn.
The building trembles in every wind and I think John Quincy Adams will have to
move before long. But he himself is very well.”

DEATH IS A DOOR
Death is only an old door
Set in a garden wall.
On gentle hinges it gives at dusk,
When the thrushes call.

Along the lintel are green leaves;
Beyond, the light lies still.
Very willing and weary feet
Go over that sill.
There is nothing to trouble any heart,
Nothing to hurt at all.
Death is only a quiet door
In an old wall.

~ Nancy Byrd Turner

TO THOSE I LOVE AND THOSE WHO LOVE ME
When I am gone, release me, let me go. I have so many things to see and do.
You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears, be happy that we had so many years. I
gave you my love. You can only guess how much you gave to me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown, but now it’s time I traveled on
alone. So grieve a while for me if grieve you must. Then let your grief be
comforted by trust. It’s only for a while that we must part. So bless the
memories within your heart. I won’t be far away, for life goes on. So if you need
me, call and I will come. Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near. And if
you listen with your heart, you’ll hear all of my love around you soft and clear.
And then, when you must come this way alone, I’ll greet you with a smile, and
“Welcome Home.”

“I think I know why times of death, transition or transformation if you wish, are
difficult for me: it is because I don’t’ wish to experience them. I don't wish to
transcend, or even to be transformed. I don’t wish to become a butterfly. I think I
may prefer to remain an inch-worm! I prefer to take one step at a time, and live
fully one day at a time. I would follow the advise of Ralph Waldo Emerson – find
the journey’s end in each step of the way. We have but one moment in which to
achieve a full measure of life; and I regret losing one moment, one step, even
one inch along the way. We shared so much of that which can be measured; but
we share still that which is beyond measure. So, at the death of a friend, a loved
one, I try to perceive the unfolding of my life, and embrace the people who face
death. I try to remember that …
… I did not die, nor has my love, nor all that we share.
… the ‘being’ that befriended me is the very Life I call my own.
… even though death involves an immeasurably large leap of faith, it too is but
one more step along the way.

~ Rev. Glenn Chaffin

I SHALL NEVER DIE
I shall never die, for the Spirit within me is God and cannot change. My life is hid
within the Universe of Love and Light, and that Light shall live forever. Go, fear
of death and change; begone from my thought, fear of death and uncertainty.
That which is cannot become that which is not; and that which I am can never

change. The Spirit of Eternity is enthroned within me, and the Life of Endless
Ages flows through my being. From Eternity to Eternity my Life flows along its
way of peace and harmony. Time brings but more glory to crown me with its
pleasures. My life is forever.
~ Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind pg. 546-547

MAJESTIC CALM
The Inner Mind is still.
The Soul reflects the Most High.
The Spirit of man is God.
In the great calm of the All Good,
I rest in peace and security.
My life is now reflecting the Perfect Whole.
I am Peace; I am calm.
I am security and complete satisfaction.
I am one with God.
I am filled with peace.

~ Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind pg. 511

Gather hand in hand in a circle of prayer:
"The Circle of Love is complete. It comprehends all, includes all, and binds all
together with cords of Everlasting Unity.
I cannot depart from Its Presence, nor wander from Its care. My Love is
complete within me. The Love of God binds me to Itself, and will not let me go.
I shall make a home for you, O my wonderful Love, and we shall journey through
life hand in hand. I shall sit in your Presence and learn the wondrous things you
will tell me; for you are God."

~ Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind pg. 513

“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in
an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in
one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and
screaming ‘WOO HOO what a ride!’"

~ author unknown

One finds that in the Silence, the Spirit of God that is within man will speak, not in
words perhaps, but in an inner realization. Let us now quietly realize together
that very present Love of God which is the Law of Eternal Life. Or in the words of
Longfellow:
“Let us then labor for an inward stillness, an inward stillness and an inward
healing; that perfect silence where the lips and heart are still, and we no longer
entertain our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions. But God alone speaks
in us, and we wait in singleness of heart, that we may know His will, and in the
silence of our spirits, that we do His will, and do that only.”

“We are like children privileged to spend a day in a great park, a park filled with
many gardens and playgrounds and azure-tinted lakes with white boats sailing
upon the tranquil waves. True, the day allotted to each one of us is not the same
in length, in light, in beauty. Some children of earth are privileged to spend a
long and sunlit day in the garden of the earth. For others the day is shorter,
cloudier, and dusk descends more quickly as in a winter’s tale. But whether our
life is a long summery day or a shorter wintry afternoon, we know that inevitably
there are storms and squalls which overcast even the blues of heaven and there
are sunlit rays which pierce the darkest autumn sky. The day that we are
privileged to spend in the great park of life is not the same for all human beings,
but there is enough beauty and joy and gaiety in the hours if we will but treasure
them. Then for each one of us the moment comes when the great nurse, death,
takes man, the child, by the hand and quietly says, ‘It is time to go home. Night
is coming. It is your bedtime, child of earth. Come, you’re tired. Lie down at last
in the quiet of the nursery and sleep. Sleep well. The day is gone. Stars shine
in the canopy of eternity.’”

~ Joshia L. Liebman, from Peace of Mind

“I feel in myself the future of life. I am like a forest once cut down: the new
shoots are stronger and livelier than ever. I am rising, I know, toward the sky.
The sunshine is on my head. The earth gives me its generous sap, but heaven
lights me with the reflection of unknown worlds.
You say the soul is nothing but the resultant of bodily powers. Why, then, is my
soul more luminous when my bodily powers begin to fail? Winter is on my head,
but the eternal spring is in my heart. I breathe at this hour the fragrance of the
lilies, the violets and the roses, as at twenty years. The nearer I approach the
end, the plainer I hear around me the immortal symphonies of the worlds which
invite me. It is marvelous, yet simple. It is a fairy tale, and it is history.
For half a century I have been writing my thoughts in prose and in verse; history,
philosophy, dram, romance, tradition, satire, ode and song; I have tried them all.
But I feel I have not said the thousandth part of what is in me. When I go down
to the grave I can say, like many others, ‘I have finished my day’s work,’ but I
cannot say, ‘I have finished my life.’ My day’s work will begin again the next
morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the
twilight, opens on the dawn.”

~ Victor Hugo

AFTERGLOW
I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of
smiles when day is done. I’d like to leave an echo, whispering softly down the
ways, of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days. I’d like the
tears of those who grieve to dry before the sun of happy memories I leave
behind, when day is done.

I’M FREE
Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free.

I’m following the path God has laid, you see.
I took His hand when I heard His call.
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
I found the peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow.
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I’ve savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief.
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and share with me.
God wanted me now; He set me free.
~ unknown

THE NEXT PLACE

By Warren Hanson

The next place that I go will be as peaceful and familiar as a sleepy summer
Sunday and a sweet untroubled mind. And yet … it won't be anything like any
place I've ever been … or seen … or even dreamed of in the place I leave
behind. I won't know where I'm going, and I won't know where I've been as I
tumble through the always and look back toward the when. I'll glide beyond the
rainbows. I'll drift above the sky. I'll fly into the wonder, without ever wondering
why. I won't remember getting there. Somehow I'll just arrive. But I'll know that I
belong there and will feel much more alive than I have ever felt before. I will be
absolutely free of the things that I held onto that were holding onto me.

The next place that I go will be so quiet and so still that the whispered song of
sweet belonging will rise up to fill the listening sky with joyful silence, and with
unheard harmonies of music made by no one playing, like a hush upon a breeze.
There will be no room for darkness in that place of living light, where an ever-
dawning morning pushes back the dying night. The very air will fill with brilliance,
as the brightly shining sun and the moon and half a million stars are married into
one.

The next place that I go won't really be a place at all. There won't be any
seasons -winter, summer, spring or fall - nor a Monday, nor a Friday, nor
December, nor July. And the seconds will be standing still … while hours hurry
by. I will not be a boy or girl, a woman or a man. I'll simply be just, simply me.
No worse or better than. My skin will not be dark or light. I won't be fat or tall.
The body I once lived in won't be part of me at all. I will finally be perfect. I will
be without a flaw. I will never make one more mistake, or break the smallest law.
And the me that was impatient, or was angry or unkind, will simply be a memory.
The me I left behind. I will travel empty-handed. There is not a single thing I
have collected in my life that I would ever want to bring except … the love of
those who loved me, and the warmth of those who cared. The happiness and
memories and magic that we shared. Though I will know the joy of solitude … I'll
never be alone. I'll be embraced by all the family and friends I've ever known.
Although I might not see their faces, all our hearts will beat as one, and the circle
of our spirits will shine brighter than the sun. I will cherish all the friendship I was
fortunate to find, all the love and all the laughter in the place I leave behind. All
these good things will go with me. They will make my spirit glow. And that light
will shine forever in the next place that I go.

~ Warren Hanson

Remember Me:
To the living, I am gone.
To the sorrowful, I will never return.
To the angry, I was cheated,
But to the happy, I am at peace,
And to the faithful, I have never left.
I cannot be seen, but I can be remembered.
So as you stand upon a shore, gazing at a beautiful sea - remember me.
As you look in awe at a mighty forest and its grand majesty - remember me.
As you look upon a flower and admire its simplicity - remember me.
Remember me in your heart, your thoughts, and your memories of the times we
loved, the times we cried, the times we fought, the times we laughed.
For if you always think of me, I will have never gone.

~ anonymous

“Before the sublime mystery of life and spirit, the mystery of infinite space and
endless time, we stand in reverent awe....This much we know: we are at least
one phase of the immortality of life. The mighty stream of life flows on, and, in
this mighty stream, we too flow on...not lost...but each eternally significant. For
this I feel: The spirit never betrays the person who trusts it. Physical life may be
defeated but life goes on; character survives, goodness lives and love is
immortal”.

~ Col Robert G. Ingersoll

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can
steal.

~ From a headstone in Ireland

There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.
They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers
of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.

~ Washington Irving

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while... but our hearts forever.

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.

The passive master lent his hand,
To the vast Soul which o'er him planned.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
[on a plaque at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grave in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery; Concord,
Massachusetts]

The Body of
B. Franklin, Printer
Like the Cover of an old Book
Its Contents turn out
And Stript of its Lettering & Guilding
Lies here. Food for Worms
For, it will as he believed
appear once more
In a new and more elegant Edition
corrected and improved
By the Author
Benjamin Franklin

[Christ Church Burial Grounds; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]

... a Navaho Prayer, by the deceased for the living:
Grieve for me, for I would grieve for you.
Then brush away the sorrow and the tears
Life is not over, but begins anew,

with courage you must greet the coming years.
To live forever in the past is wrong;
can only cause you misery and pain.
Dwell not on memories overlong,
with others you must share and care again.
Reach out and comfort those who comfort you;
recall the years, but only for a while.
Nurse not your loneliness; but live again.
Forget not. Remember with a smile.

THE DRAGONFLY
Once, in a pond, under the lily pads, there lived a water beetle in a community of
water beetles. They live a simple life with few disturbances. Once in a while,
sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would
climb the stem of the lily pad and would not be seen again. They knew when this
happened; their friend was gone forever. Then, one day, one little beetle felt an
irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined he would not
leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he found at the top.
When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily
pad, he was so tired, and the sun was so warm, he decided he must take a nap.
As he slept, his body changed and when he work up, he had turned into a
beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for
flying. So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world
and a far superior way of life to what he had ever known existed.
Then he remembered her beetle friends and how they thought he was gone
forever. He wanted to go back to tell them that he was now more alive than he
had been before he left. His life had not ended, but changed. But, his new body
would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the
good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they too would
know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new
life!

~ Author unknown

God looked around his garden, and saw an empty place.
He then looked down from heaven, and saw your tired face.
He knew that you were suffering, and a cure was not to be.
So he put his arms around you, and whispered, "Come with me."
With tearful eyes we watched you, as you slowly slipped away.
And though we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay.
Many times we've needed you, and many times we've cried.
If love could have saved you, you never would have died.

~ Anonymous

Should you go first and I remain to walk the road alone,
I'll live in memory's garden, dear, with happy days we've known.

In Spring I'll wait for roses red, when fades the lilac blue,
In early Fall, when brown leaves call I'll catch a glimpse of you.

Should you go first and I remain for battles to be fought,
Each thing you've touched along the way will be a hallowed spot.
I'll hear your voice, I'll see your smile, though blindly I may grope,
The memory of your helping hand will buoy me on with hope.

Should you go first and I remain to finish with the scroll,
No length'ning shadows shall creep in to make this life seem droll.
We've known so much of happiness, we've had our cup of joy,
And memory is one gift of God That death cannot destroy.

Should you go first and I remain, one thing I'd have to do;
Walk slowly down that long, lone path, for soon I'll follow you.
I'll want to know each step you take that I may walk the same,
For some day down that lonely road you'll hear me call your name.

~ A.K. Roswell

She’s Gone
You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she’s gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

~ David Harkins, © 1981 Silloth, Cumbria, UK

Faithful friends! It lies I know
Pale and white and cold as snow;
And ye say, “Abdullah’s dead!”
Weeping at the feet and head,
I can see your falling tears,
I can hear your sighs and prayers;
Yet I smile and whisper this:
“I am not the thing you kiss.
Cease your tears, and let it lie;
It was mine – it is not I.”

~ Edwin Arnold, He Who Died at Azan

And so beside the Silent Sea I wait the muffled oar;
No harm from Him can come to me on ocean or on shore.
I know not where His islands lift their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift beyond His love and care.

~ J. G. Whittier

My prayer is that ___________ family and friends will always remember her love
for them, allowing that love to warm their hearts, illumine their souls and guide
them as they make their way together. We are all on the path, and no one walks
alone, though many we’ve loved have gone on. We bless them and wish them
God’s speed as we thank them for sharing their life with us.
Where we are God is and all is well. Within us is the presence of Peace, the
essence of Love. I pray that each will find it in them to share this love and be at
peace. Where ________ is, God is and all is well.
Amen

~ Rev. Glenn Chaffin