Funeral Poem

Funeral Prayer
On Death
Kahlil Gibran

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honor.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Universal Life Church 

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

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Funeral Eulogy

On behalf of _______'s family I would like to thank you all for attending this service of respect and dedication for their beloved, _______. This ceremony of love and respect for their beloved _______. 

Death in a number of ways unites us all, and _______'s death for a time demands that each one of us put aside our toil, our cares and pleasures to unite ourselves with everyone here, mourners all who share in the common bond of love and friendship for _______. 

With our last thoughts and respect for _______, I think it is fitting that we should reflect on _______'s time with us and the influence he had in your lives. 

_______ was born the ____ child of __ children to parent's  _______ on _______, in _____ Hospital. He was educated at ______ elementary school and then at ______ High School. _______ enjoyed the friendship of many school mates and his love for sport such as _____ and  particularly, ______. 

Life was never dull with _______ around, his family recalls their times with laughter with love for _______. This was very special as _______ was known always to be the life and soul of any gatherings of family and friends. Above all _______ was a loving, caring family man. _______ recalls him busy ______ just when food was on the table and how much he enjoyed being outside in the garden. At Christmas, when he cut the traditional roast, often eating more than he was cutting. 

_______'s mother, Jean remembers the time when _______ decided to fly his kite off the family house rooftop, along with himself!!! 

_______'s father, _____ recalls the time that _______ loved riding his little trike and how he once rode it …………….

I would like to read a poem that is written by _______'s father of his love for his son. 

The joy of his birth filled our hearts with joy. We named him _______, his smile, his cheeky face, unfolded like satin lace. My heart is heavy now, the sorrow the grief will grow. I lost my son, his smile and cheek. God only takes the best, my love, my memories will never cease. 

I am happy I was chosen, to be your Dad, I will never let you go, my son _______.

_______'s friends will always remember him as a fun loving guy, who loved _________ and his always forever-willing ways. 

This tragic end to someone so full of life is sad, because we grieve most for the passing of the young. This very grief is a token that death cannot take from us, the most precious of treasures namely LOVE. It is the tear of love that flows the fullest. The pain of love that aches the deepest. The thoughts of love that move most actively. The intense feeling of loves that grieves for one so young. That nature it 'self is teaching us to keep hold of something, something that is truly worth keeping. For of all the memories, the memory of the young moves us more deeply than any other memories. 

You may like to take a few moments before we say farewell to _______, please think of him as you remember him, the loving person he truly was, and also his influence he made on your life, whilst we listen to one of his favorite song's. 

To _______'s parents, ________, his wife ______ and his children ______ and _______  and all the close family we offer our deepest sympathy and thank you most sincerely, for your love and support at such a tragic time of their lives. 

Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen.

Universal Life Church

http://funeralsfunerals.com

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Prayer

Funeral Prayer #5 
The Tempest, III, iv We are such stuff as dreams are made on ...
William Shakespeare

Our revels are now ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded in a sleep. 

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Poem

Funeral Poems : God Saw You Getting Tired

God saw you getting tired
and a cure was not to be
so he put his arms around you
and whispered,
“Come to Me”

With tearful eyes we watched you
and saw you pass away
and although we love you dearly
we could not make you stay.

A Golden heart stopped beating
hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us
he only takes the best

Universal Life Church 

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

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Funeral Poem

Universal Life Church

Funeral Prayer #4 Dirge Without Music

By Edna St. Vincent Millay

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.

So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:

Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned

With lilies and with laurel they go but I am not resigned.

Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.

Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.

A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,

A formula, a phrase remains, but the best is lost.

The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,

They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled

Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.

More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave

Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;

Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.

I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Poem

Funeral Prayer #3 Crossing the Bar
Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness or farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.


Funeral Prayer #4 Dirge Without Music
By Edna St. Vincent Millay

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go but I am not resigned.

Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains, but the best is lost.

The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,
They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned. 

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Eulogy

Eulogy
Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony

There is much to remember and much to be thankful for as we remember ______ and the way he shared his/her life with those around him/her. We all give the gift of ourselves to those we share life with. These are gifts that no one can take away. Though we are gone, these gifts remain with those to whom we have given them.

______ gave gifts of him/herself to us which have become a part of us, and cannot be taken away. We give thanks for his/her life, and for the ways he shared it with us.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony

CLOSING PRAYER
Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony
 

(Choose one) 

Eternal God, let your presence rest upon us as we give thanks for _________ 's life.

We thank you for the days of life that you gave to him/her.

May his/her memory live long among us and be a source of strength for us.

In the midst of the loss we feel as we experience the death of one whom we love, keep us in touch also with the memories which can sustain us.

May we find the courage to face the changes which life presents to us as we go on from here. Give to those who most deeply feel this loss the comfort of your presence, and enable each of us to minister to those who mourn. Amen.

 This is a prayer, from  the American Indian tradition: "O Great Spirit whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me. I am small and weak - I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. I seek strength not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy, myself. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes so when life fades as the fading sunset my spirit may come to you without shame.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

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Funeral Poem

Universal Life Church

Funeral Prayer #1 Funeral Blues

www.cremationsolutions.com 

W. H. Auden

(This poem was made popular by its reading in the movie "Four Weddings and a Funeral.")

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 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 forever; 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. 

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Poetry

Universal Life Church

Funeral Prayer #2 From the Ode To Immortality, Stanza IX
William Wordsworth

O joy! that in our embers
Is something that doth live,
That nature yet remembers
What was so fugitive!
The thought of our past years in me doth breed
Perpetual benediction: not indeed
For that which is most worthy to be blest--
Delight and liberty, the simple creed
Of Childhood, whether busy or at rest,
With new-fledged hope still fluttering in his breast:--
Not for these I raise
The song of thanks and praise;
But for those obstinate questionings
Of sense and outward things,
Fallings from us, vanishings;
Blank misgivings of a Creature
Moving about in worlds not realised,
High instincts before which our mortal Nature
Did tremble like a guilty Thing surprised:
But for those first affections,
Those shadowy recollections,
Which, be they what they may,
Are yet the fountain light of all our day,
Are yet a master light of all our seeing;
Uphold us, cherish, and have power to make
Our noisy years seem moments in the being
Of the eternal Silence: truths that wake,
To perish never;
Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavor,
Nor Man nor Boy,
Nor all that is at enmity with joy,
Can utterly abolish or destroy!
Hence in a season of calm weather
Though inland far we be,
Our Souls have sight of that immortal sea
Which brought us hither,
Can in a moment travel thither,
And see the Children sport upon the shore,
And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Opening Statement

Opening Statement
Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony
 
We are joined here on this day to give thanks for the life of ______, whose short stay of ___ years was a joy to us all. 

Death is part of the cycle of life.  Death is required and death is sad.  It tears at our heart when it happens, but without it, there could be nothing new.  No new genes, no species, no new perspectives in the world.  Without death, there could be no more birth.  Death is the price we pay.

Even though it is the price, we struggle against it with all our might.  We guard ourselves and live in resistance to this natural state.  When it does come, such as now, there is for some a question of faith, of the fairness of the world, which eventually gives way to acceptance that death is part of the greater plan for the universe.  This acceptance doesn’t usually come easy or quickly, but when it does, it can strengthen us.  To love life and to trust so completely in the ways of the universe and of God, even in its final act, is fortifying.

We have come here today to celebrate the passage that ________ has made into the greater wholeness, the loving arms of God.

Rev. Amy Long

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony Sermon

By Carolyn Young Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony

Requiem for an Unborn (set up the sacred space and light a candle for everyone in attendance. Make sure there are plenty of tissues available.) Many of us know the pain of losing a child. And if we are fortunate to have not known, as women we can still empathize and grieve. A life stopped before it was started can more distressing than other any deaths. Body and spirit stiffen against sorrow, but to aid the release of the grief of those who mourn, we must let our own awareness flow free. We gather tonight to say good-bye to _______, a child-but not a child; truly "real" to but one among us. Whether the one we mourn was beloved or a stranger, we have the right and the need to grieve because her fate is our own. She has left behind empty arms, not just her parents', but all who would have cherished her and nurtured her and assisted her in becoming a woman. We hope she accomplished what she had set for herself. (Let everyone tell what they would have liked to have done with _______. When each person is finished speaking they blow out their candle and wish Godspeed to the soul.) I would like to have taken her for walks in the woods and shown her the wonders there . . . and let her show me the wonders of God's creations through a child's eyes again. (When all are finished ground the energies and open the space.) ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Prayers

PRAYER
Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony
 

Eternal spirit, before whom generations rise and pass away, we find that even in the face of death, our words can be those of thanksgiving.

We are thankful for one who shared his/her life with us...One for whom love and family were so important.... whose life was lived with vigor.

For the struggles of life, and for the triumph of character over trial, of courage over difficulty, of faith over sorrow, we give thanks.

God grant us such strength in the memory of our friend that we might be thankful for the gift of life that is given to each of us, and in our hearts, may the loss of ______ be balanced by thanksgiving for the life that was shared with us. Amen.

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony

Extreme Unction 

Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony

 

There follows the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, or anointing, as it is popularly designated. Here the clergyman may find himself confronted with prejudices which in spite of reiterated explanations seem to have an extraordinary vitality.  His announcement that he purposes to anoint the sick person is often accepted by the patient and his friends as the reading of the death-warrant.  It is necessary to point out that the Sacrament of Extreme Unction gives health not only to the spirit, but also sometimes to the body. The basis for the teaching is of course to be found in the well-known utterance of James (v, 14, 15): "Is any man sick among you?  Let him bring in the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man; and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins they shall be forgiven him."

Anciently it was the custom to confer this sacrament before the Viaticum; the maintenance of the existing usage has been prescribed not only by the Roman Ritual, but also the Lutheran, and many other denominations as well. Although the existence of a precept to receive this sacrament cannot be established, still the failure to avail oneself of its efficacy out of sheer sloth would be a sin. It cannot be administered more than once during the same illness, unless, after some notable betterment which has either certainly or probably taken place, a new danger should supervene. In chronic diseases, therefore, such as tuberculosis and different cancers that sometimes go into remission but then reoccur, it will often happen that the anointing sacrament may and ought to be repeated because of the recurrence of what is, morally speaking, a new danger.

According to the discipline in vogue in the Latin Church, the unctions essential to the validity of the sacrament are those of the organs of the five senses--the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and hands. There is a diversity in the custom as to the unctions to be added to those already enumerated; in the United States, besides the parts mentioned, only the feet are anointed.

The sick-room ought to be made ready for the visit of the priest or minister on the occasion of his giving the last blessing, and or sacrament, it can at least be cleaned and aired. On a table covered with a white cloth there ought to be a lighted blessed candle, a crucifix, a glass of water, a spoon, a vessel containing holy water, and a towel. According to the rubric of the Roman Ritual the priest is to remind those who are present to pray for the sick person during the anointing, and it suggests that the Seven Penitential Psalms with the litanies might be employed, or the 23^rd Psalm for this purpose. 

Extreme unction, like other sacraments, produces sanctifying grace in the spirit. It has, however, certain results proper to itself. Of these the principal one seems to be the getting rid of that spiritual torpor and weakness which are the baneful output of actual sin, and which would be such a serious handicap in this supreme moment. From the viewpoint of the Christian, the struggle to be maintained with the devil is now more formidable than ever, and a special endowment of heaven-sent strength is necessary for the soul's final victory. 

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony Sermon

Universal Life Church By Rev. Kirk Alan Haas Breathe

Do not be afraid to breathe Even though this is something our loved one Could not do. Do not be afraid for our loved one For they have found peace. Do not be afraid for their family For they are together and strong. Do not be afraid to be happy And to tell your stories of your friend. Do not be afraid to keep loving this man. He never stopped loving you. Do not be afraid to cry With the sadness you feel in his passing. Do not be afraid to move forward with your lives, Without him. Do not be afraid To breathe. Poem for the passing of a loved one. Written for and Delivered at the funeral of Terry Lee Haas 09.17.04 by Rev. Kirk Alan Haas, Officiant Terry Lee Haas passed away forty-eight days short of his fiftieth birthday from lung failure. Terry's brother officiated the ceremony, his first official act as a minister. ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony

By 'Didj Man' Blessing

Let the sweetness of the Creator's breath draw this new born child of the eternal to the everlasting mercies that do beckon one as a Mother whispering to her Babe in the cradle; let my breath cover you and remind you that you are mine and that no thing done under the sun can escape my gentle gaze, But let now I pray thee your gaze be as mine; brief, gentle,and kind. For the face you see does wash clean as you are now stepped out of your earthly body and are now a seed of Hope for all who await this journey ahead,so as you leave please remember to smile for the World in which you came for the power of forgiveness is the holy spirit's witness to the blood that quickens all those who be ever living to see the day where none would ever have to pass from this World to the next in blind faith, but in the unquinching arms of wisdom, and a love that has no bounds, but yet all boundaries are made by this love. Fear not my coming child for death is not becoming of you; I take you unto life and that is who I am............... ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony Sermon

By Peggy Mott

DO NOT GRIEVE TOO LONG FOR ME A REQUIEM FOR SHIRLEY Do not grieve too long for me For I have come to a better place. Here at the right hand of my Lord. I know no more pain nor anguish, Neither sorrows nor sadness. Do not grieve too long for me. Remember only the pleasures, The memories to cherish, The life and love that we shared. Do not grieve too long for me. I am now at serene and peaceful rest Here at the right hand of my Lord. Do not grieve too long for me. ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony

By Rev. Dennis William Hawkins Universal Life Church

Funeral Service For A Devoted Christian Wife Hello everyone and welcome. On behalf of ___, and the rest of the family, I would like to thank you for coming. Your being here, is a tribute ______. Our sister _____ has gone to her rest in the peace of Christ. May the Lord now welcome her to the table of God=s children in heaven. With faith and hope in eternal life, let us assist her with our prayers. Let us also pray to our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for ourselves who mourn today that we maybe reunited with our sister ___, when we meet Jesus Christ in his Glory. This is the will of the one who sent me, says the Lord, that I should not lose anyone of what he gave me, but that I should raise them up on the last day. Let us Pray! Lord Jesus Christ, by your own three days in the grave, you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you and so made the grave a sign of hope that promises resurrection even as it claims our mortal bodies. Grant that our sister Winifred may sleep her in peace until you awaken her to glory for you are the resurrections and the life. Then she will see you face to face and in your light will see light and know the splendor of God. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Reading of Obituary 2 Timothy 4 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 (2 Ti 4:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. If eternal life is the reward for selfless devotion to marriage, then blessed is she whose ashes we lay to rest today. ____was a selfless and devoted wife, even to the forgetting of herself. She gave herself over completely to the institution of marriage, and her husband. ____, denied herself to put her husband first and foremost in her life. This is a living example of the pure love of Christ, and shall not go unrewarded. Isaiah 6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 (Is 25:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. May this woman who loved others more than herself, be taken the mountain of the Lord where she will live in eternity on the high peak of the Love of Christ. Where she will rest, free from illness, pain and the limits of this mortal body, face to face with our Lord. For our sister ___, Let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me shall live, even in death and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Lord, you joined Adam and Eve, in Marriage, while in Paradise, before sin and death entered the world. Be with ___ husband, and grant him comfort. Lord, have mercy. Lord, you consoled Martha and Mary in their distress, draw near to us who mourn ___, and dry the tears of those you weep. Lord have Mercy. You wept at the grave of Lazarus, your friend, comfort us in our sorrow. Christ have Mercy. You raised the dead to life, give to our sister ___ eternal life. Lord have Mercy. Our sister was washed in baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit. Give her fellowship with all your saints. Christ have Mercy. And now ___, may the angels lead you into paradise, may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you into the kingdom of God. Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, bless this grave and hallow it, protect it, until the time appointed for the body to be resurrected and reunited with the spirit. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen Let us pray: Eternal God, you made the union of man and woman a sign of the bond between Christ and his church. Grant peace and mercy to ___, who was united in love with ___. May the care and devotion of her life on earth find a lasting reward in heaven. Look kindly on her children, family and friends as they turn to your compassion and love. Strengthen their faith and lighten their loss. We pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Now as we prepare to leave this hallowed ground, May Almighty God bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:? 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Holy Bible: King James Version. 1995 Reverend Dennis William Hawkins Unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremonies

Viaticum 
Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony
 

After the testimony comes the reception of the Holy Spirit (per modum viatici). "Sacred writers", according to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, "called it 'the Viaticum', as well because it is the spiritual bread by which we are supported in our mortal pilgrimage, as also because it prepares for us a passage to eternal glory and happiness." The concordant teaching of theologians, as well as the inference from the uniform discipline of the Universal Church, is that there is a Divine precept binding one to receive the Holy Spirit when in danger of death. 

At this time the communicant is exempted from the traditional natural fast. The Council of Constance witnesses to the custom of the Universal Church in this matter, as well as the Roman Ritual (I, cap. iv, 4) says: "potest quidem Viaticum brevi morituris dari non jejunis". This privilege may be enjoyed repeatedly by the dying person during the illness. Strictly speaking, it is not extended to persons whose danger of death comes from a cause other than sickness, such as soldiers about to engage in battle or criminals about to be executed. Still, even they, as appears from a declaration of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, 21 July, 1841, may receive the Viaticum even though they are not fasting, if they find any considerable difficulty in observing the law. 

So far as is possible, nothing should be omitted which can help to confer upon the administration of the Viaticum becoming solemnity. This is all the more desirable in that sometimes the demeanor of those who are present on such occasions, and even of the sick person, is not such as to betray any very alert sense of the Presence that has come to hallow this last stage of life's journey. 

It is needless to add that whatever the enlightened zeal of the minister or the careful piety of the bystanders can suggest ought to be done to awaken in the communicant a special degree of fervor, a more than ordinarily penetrating faith and ardent love on the occasion of what may be his final eating of the Bread of Life. 

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and ordination to become an ordained minister.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.

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Funeral Ceremonies

Bell, Book And Candle Ceremony

Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony

 

The Bell, Book, and Candle ceremony is an ancient ritual of the Roman Catholic Church, no longer in common use. It has been adapted by other denominations for various circumstances. It has been modified from the original to honor persons whose lives have reflected spirituality and doing the will of God without being deeply religious.

When the Captain of a Navy ship departs, the ship’s bell is rung. We ring the bell to honor _________’s departure from the vessel God loaned him to navigate this Earth.

We close the Book of God’s Word to acknowledge that ______ no longer needs to read it because he is hearing it directly in the presence of God.

We blow out the candle to signify that _______ no longer needs it because he is forever in the light of God’s glory.

Sola Deo Gloria (To God alone be the glory)

Amen

Rev. David J. Gripka, DD, ULC

dgripka@yahoo. com

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members..

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Funeral Ceremony

By Rev. William C. Sanders Christian Service

performed by her step-son Rev. William C. Sanders, Minister ULC. Friends, I welcome you today to a service of celebration as we reflect upon the life of Beth Galloway Sanders. We remember her as a kind and spiritual friend who loved and lived for Jesus Christ and for making others smile with faces full of joy. To my father, she was a loving wife and shared with him her beautiful spirit, kindness, and deepest love. others knew her as a loving family member and friend always ready and willing to show her love for us all. often for no other reason but to see us smile, and because quite simply that's just the way she liked it. Beth shared her heart and love with each of us in her own unique way. We all knew Beth in different ways but we all new her as a kind, giving and special person. We will all take with us our memories of Beth as it is her way of living on in our lives. in Rev. 22 , the Lord speaks to us " I am the alpha and the Omega" "The beginning and the end". As we are born into a life with Christ and he is there to accept us at the beginning, so to is Christ there to accept us at the end of our lives and to lead us on to an eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. we have lost a dear friend, wife, and family member who will be truly missed, but let us remain joyful and find comfort in knowing that she has left us safely in the arms of her Lord Jesus Christ whom she loved so much, and through whom she became the loving Beth that we all knew. Let us pray : Lord we give unto you our hearts and pray for your healing grace in our lives.we pray for the spirit of our loved one whom has passed on to your care. we thank you for the gift of having your faithful servant in our lives, as we ask for strength and comfort for the things which we do not understand. this we pray...Amen Rev. William C. Sanders "Pastor Will" San Antonio, TX Comments are welcome at pastorwill2004@yahoo.com ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony Sermon

By A ULC Minister Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony

Psalm 23:4, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil: for thou art with me." These words were written by a shepherd-David lived with suffering, pain and loss, yet he survived with his faith intact because he trusted the Shepherd and Healer of his soul. We are faced with the sober reality of death. We cannot forget that person that died, but we can remember that he lived; we can remember who he was, and the contribution he made to his family, his community, and our lives. And our response to his death can be one of hope. There's no such thing as false hope, because there is a secure hope as we face death--that hope is found in our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. He leads His flock not simply to but through the dark valleys. We need not fear death; Jesus has assured us that He is right there with us, even in the valley of the shadow of death. Christ the Good Shepherd can lead us through the dark valleys because He's been there. He laid down His life for His sheep. God the Father can fully share our sorrow. Sometimes when death comes I've seen people cry in anger, "Where was God when this loved one died?" The answer--He was where He was when His son was being killed...and He understands the pain we feel--He's been there. He can even handle our anger. He understands our distress more than anyone ever could. He may feel far away, and we may feel abandoned, but He is with us, in every dark valley. Our Good Shepherd does more than lead us through the dark valleys of life. He leads us from despair to renewed confidence in His care. He doesn't simply observe us from a distance; He is actively involved with the details of our lives. He leads us through the valley, because death is not the end of life. There is a life beyond the grave. Our Good Shepherd is preparing a place for all who believe. This place He is preparing for us is not free, however. It cost us nothing, but it cat His everything. He paid for us with his own life. His sacrifice on the Cross frees us from condemnation; His blood washes away our guilt. This familiar verse from the Shepherd's Psalm doesn't say that we are led through the "valley of death' but the "valley of the shadow of death."The substance of death--the awful dread and fear and uncertainty--has been removed, and only the shadow remains. This is why we who belong to the Good Shepherd can state with confidence, "O death, where is your sting O grave, where is your victory?" ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony

Internment

So it is that we gather to commemorate the passing of one who was with us and is no more. We keep in our minds and hearts those memories and that love we knew because ______ shared his/her life with us; and we commit his/her (body to the ground and his/her) spirit into the keeping of Almighty God.

Universal Life Church - Online Funeral Ceremony

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The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members..

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Funeral Ceremony

By Andrew Pell Universal Life Church

Light a Candle Light a candle for those we mourn. Into a new life they will be born. Do not look for them at the grave site. They are somewhere else radiating their beautiful light They have gone to a new world where there is no darkness, no pain. Their light and essence will always remain. Light a candle for those who have left this mortal place. They are free to travel through time and space. When we think of them, they are near. When we sit in a beautiful garden. Their voices we hear. When we listen to a divine symphony, We close our eyes, their faces we see. Light a candle for they have not really gone. With each flickering flame, in your hearts they will always belong. ******************** The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have enjoyed the new article directory for seminary members.. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar