A Ceremony of Thanksgiving
to
celebrate the life and witness
of
name
Picture….graphis
Date:
Place:
Celebrant:
Dates which give us a window into N., life…
Welcoming N., body…
Opening Song:
Words of Welcome…
Friends,
we have come together because we loved and appreciated
the life and time of N.,,
as a husband/wife, as a brother/sister, as father/mother, grand-father/mother,
Great-grandfather/mother, as an uncle/aunt,
as a member of the ….. families, as a friend.
Here as we welcome his/her body back to N.,we come to remember him/her with a deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness that we have had him/her in our lives, as we honour his/her life, the values s/he lived by, and his/herpeaceful death surrounded by .N.,and all his/her kids.
N., was no accidental side-show to our lives.
S/He found truth and lived an uncomplicated life with enthusiasm.
His/her life is a blessing to us and in his/her life each of us is more whole as human beings.
Our lives are truer because we had the opportunity to know him/her, to like him/her and to love him/her
As a song o know ell says: , “My heart is sore... My tears a'flow ... as we saw him/her go ...”... we do not hide from the reality that we come here today to say good-bye. But before we do so we do as this same song exhorts us to do: we come to sing his/her praise as sweet harp play and proudly toast his/her noble frame…
We also come today to bring what comfort we canto ……..and their families, of whoms/he was SO proud of.
I am sure we come believing that all human life is precious and to be cherished that the truth and integrity and hopefulness which reside in each life lives on, in some mysterious shape and form, there is a tomorrow for each of us.
We come believing that N.,’s life, which we celebrate today and experience a real and tangible senseof loss, is joined in the eternal fields of all human striving, stretching into the past and into the future.
We were born into this world to find truth and the essence of ourselves.
The gifts and experiences which s/he offered are never lost to us.
The sense of justice, truth and an equality for all which s/he brought to us in his/her life travels into the future with us.•
Blessing with the waters of life (OPTIONAL)
I know welcome home N.,’s body …and using water as a symbol of life and death to bless his/her body with water to remind us of the promise made years ago in N.,’s baptism that in this flesh lived a soul created by the breath of Great Spirit;
in this body, wisdom and truth found a home.
The one who planned and made this man/woman will not forget him/her.
We cover now with waters from the earth and ask safe passage through the rivers of death and ask that the forces of life may protect this treasure which we now place in their care.
Silent Reflection
Before we go on, I now invite you to reflect on this journey of life which was lived with us orto pray if that is true for you and remember those who most need our comfort at this moment.
(A silence is kept.)
Honouring and Remembering
…a time for treasured memories
Readings
Homily…
A Tapestry of Pictures (DVA Picture /Slide presentation)
Life is like a jig-saw puzzle: Interlocking pieces of bright and shadowed shades. As the last pieces of N.,’s life are being created we now look through the passage of N.,’s life, as these pictures tell give us a window into his story
Thanksgivings… (OPTIONAL)
Concluding with:
Celebrant: We give a sure foundation to all we do here as we pray
the prayer which N., and his ancestors have prayed so often in times of joy and sorrow…
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,
forever and ever. Amen
Passing on the history…
N., will share some words on behalf of the grand-children…
Then the grand-children will come forward and take from near N.,’s Coffin one of his/her prized …..take home – symbols that the skills and ‘tools’ of life that N., lived by will live on…as they do we listen to …
The Farewell
Celebrant: Before we go our separate ways, we bring tenderly and
reverently, the body of our brother/sisterN.,to be buried/cremated.
May our last farewell express our affection for him/her;
may it ease our sadness and strengthen the bonds of this family and this community.
None of us knows the whole truth about what lies beyond death.
Each of us will have our own philosophy in relation to that mystery.
What we do know at this moment is that the life of this man
whom we have loved lives on in us in a multitude of ways.
Some of us will find that life within our own lives and memories;
others will experience a sense of presence into the future.
We can never capture the life of a person, let alone N.,.
We can only bring glimpses and moments which remind us of the life s/he lived with us …
We pause for a moment of silence to give our thanks for the gifts N., has given us….
Into the freedom of the wind and sunshine … WE LET YOU GO
Into the dance of the stars and the planets … WE LET YOU GO
Into the wind’s breath and the hands of the One who made the stars… WE LET YOU GO
Let us now proceed in peace and take N., whom we have amongst us for the last time to his/her place of rest, as we travel this final journey.
May the earth be warm under your feet,
The rain bring the gentle colours of a life well-lived bright around you
And a districts which surround us wind blow as the breath of the Great Spirit before you;
And now, as we dare to let N., go out of our keeping…
Into the sacred circle of life + we go...
Into their power for good and for peace
May their breath be ours to live
May there love be ours to give ... Now and always...All: Amen
Final song: (Mo Ghile Mear)Our Hero bythe Chieftains and Sting
Chorus:
'Se/ mo laoch, mo GhileMear
'Se/ mo ChaesarGileMear
Suanna/ se/an ni/ bhfuaireasfe/in
O/ chuaighigce/in mo GhileMear
Grief and pain are all I know
My heart is sore
My tears a'flow
We saw him/her go ....
No word we know of him/her... Chorus
A proud and gallant cavalier
A high man's scion of gentle mean
A fiery blade engaged to reap
He'd break the bravest in the field Chorus
Come sing his praise as sweet harps play
And proudly toast his noble frame
With spirit and with mind aflame
So wish him/her strength and length of day Chorus
On behalf of N.,
and their families
thank for the effort you have made to be with them
as we remember and celebrate N.,’s life and witness.
Please say for refreshments as they hope to have the opportunity to thank you personally for your presence today –