Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving

Eden United Church of Christ
Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving for
Donald D. Lawrence

Sunday, April 17, 2005
5:00 p.m.

Prelude “Medley of Hymns and Classical Music”

Introit “The Old Rugged Cross” Bennard

Bill Coburn, Tenor Soloist

Opening Sentences The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring

Greeting Arlene

Opening Hymn “In the Bulb There is a Flower” Sleeth

Invocation Arlene

Old Testament Readings Arlene

Psalm 23
Psalm 27: 1, 4, 5
Psalm 139:1-18

Solo “If I Take the Wings of the Morning” Damon

Tony Lewis, Baritone Soloist

New Testament Readings

Bruce Saunkeah

Revelations 21:1-7
John 14:1-3, 25-27

Solo “In the Garden” C. Austin Miles

Bill Coburn, Tenor Soloist

Words of Remembrance Arlene

Solo “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” Ylvisaker

Brenda Loreman, Soprano Soloist

Service of Prayer Melinda

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Lord's Prayer (in unison)
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, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Prayer of Commendation

Closing Hymn “Amazing Grace” Carrell and Clayton

Benediction

Postlude “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” Hopkins

Happy Memories
I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles
when life 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 that I leave behind when life is done.

Worship Leaders
The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, Senior Minister
The Rev. Melinda V. McLain, Temporary Associate Minister
Bruce Saunkeah, Pastoral Associate
Loris Coburn, Organist
Bill Coburn, Tenor Soloist
Tony Lewis, Baritone Soloist
Brenda Loreman, Soprano Soloist
Mary Edwards and Maryellen Lentz, Ushers
Jennifer Mantle and Michael Velez, ASL Interpreters
Bill D’Anjou, Jr., Sexton & Photo Montage

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

Author: Mary Elizabeth Frye

I’m Free

Don’t grieve for me, for now I am free;
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard him 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 that 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,
Ah 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 savored much:
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.
Perhaps my time seems all too brief;
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now. He set me free.

Author: Linda Jo Jackson

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; ³ he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff– they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

Psalm 27: 1, 4, 5

Of David.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ⁴ One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. ⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

Psalm 139:1-18

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

¹ O LORD, you have searched me and known me. ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. ³ You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. ⁵ You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. ⁷ Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” ¹² even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. ¹³ For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. ¹⁷ How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ I try to count them–they are more than the sand; I come to the end–I am still with you.

“If I Take the Wings of the Morning”

If I take the wings of the morning and I fly to the ends of the earth
I’ll awake with the dawning to find you still, still with me.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
How can I run from you?
If I ascend to the heavens or make my bed in hell,
You are there, You are there as well.
If I choose night for my comfort,
Will I then be alone?
If I say darkness will hide me, you’ll never find me here,
I will find you are always near.

If I take the wings of the morning and I fly to the ends of the earth
I’ll awake with the dawning to find you still, still with me.
Dear God, You know all about me,
Know when I rise and I fall,
You know my heart and my thinking,
You know the ways I’ve tried,
Be my guide if I live or die.

If I take the wings of the morning and I fly, I fly to the ends of the earth
Then I’ll awake with the dawning to find you still,
I’ll find you still,
Dear God, You’re still, You’re still with me.

Revelation 21:1-7

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; ⁴ he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” ⁵ And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

John 14:1-3, 25-27

¹ “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. ²⁵ ”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

“I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry”

I was there to hear your borning cry,
I’ll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you are baptized,
to see your life unfold.
I was there when you were but a child,
with a faith to suit you well;
I’ll be there in case you wander off
and find where demons dwell.

When you found the wonder of the Word,
I was there to cheer you on;
You were raised to praise the living God,
to whom you now belong.
Should you find someone to share your time
and you join your hearts as one,
I’ll be there to make your verses rhyme
from dusk till rising sun.

In the middle ages of your life,
not too old, no longer young,
I’ll be there to guide you through the night,
complete what I’ve begun.
When the evening gently closes in
and you shut your weary eyes,
I’ll be there as I have always been
with just one more surprise.

I was there to hear your borning cry,
I’ll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized,
to see your life unfold.