A memorial service is a curious creation. On the surface, we behave as if the service is for the person who has just died. We try to honor their wishes, sing their favorite hymns, read their favorite poems, tell stories that demonstrate how we loved them and so forth. But really… really the memorial service is for the people who come to it. The people who need closure, who need comforting, who need to know that one is honored after death (even if not always before), who need to be able to imagine that “something like this will happen for me.” We all need reassurance that we will not be forgotten.
We have come in the midst of life to grieve for the death of ____, to give thanks for his/her life and to bid him/her farewell. Death and life are one in the purposes of love. Jesus said ‘if you grieve with all your heart, you shall find healing’.
read moreO Dear One, we are overwhelmed with frustration with the impossibility of fully accepting this unacceptable death.
read moreWe come before you today in abject pain and anguish
There are no words to describe the distress of losing someone
You love very deeply
ALL: Jesus said “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted”
