Funeral Service for Bishop John Shelby Spong
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA - September 30, 2021
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St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA - September 30, 2021
Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.
The coronavirus, the virus that causes the deadly illness called COVID-19, eerily reminds me of when I started as a young minister during the AIDS crisis. The enormity of the pain, grief and anxiety expressed by mourners and the volume of deaths reminds me of those early years.
From the Celebrating Mystery collection
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’.
Written by Rob Stoner, August 2009
I recently conducted the funeral for my father, who died after a long episode of declining health. It was a joy and a privilege to work with my family in preparing this service. But many of our family are not avowedly Christian so I wanted to respect their spiritual traditions as well as be faithful to my own. I also wanted the theology to reflect my own liberal/progressive Christian understanding.
Each birth causes us to wonder where the spark of life comes from. Every death makes us wonder what of that life survives. What we have done, and who we have been, remains part of the wider universe long after we are gone. None of us knows the whole truth about what lies beyond death. Christians believe that as we journey between life and death, we are safe in the hands of an infinitely gracious God. What we do know and believe is that every human life, with a mind to think and a heart to love, is an expression of the creative spirit of God.
I want to share four different stories that made it clear to me why involving those who gather to celebrate the life of one who has died is so important.
Greetings ladies and gentlemen. I’m X and I welcome you to the Y Chapel as we gather as an expression of our love, respect and regard for N. We come to mourn and to honour her/him. To lay to rest her/his mortal body and support one another as we grieve.
A five-part fictional story
A five-part fictional story set in the early 1990s about Reverend Paul Graham and his congregation, Grace United Church of Christ.
The polarization we see in society is also reflected in the Church.
A recent essay by a contemporary theologian I respect, David Galston, recently began with this observation: “One of the struggles that defines our humanity is the struggle over facts and opinions.”
We are considering how Courage, like Joy, is one of the signs of holiness in our time. In yesterday’s meditation, Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that we “must love something more than the fear of death” if we are to live.
I am writing this because I have an uncommon employment history that has provided me with a very unique skill-set and perspective when it comes to making difficult and challenging hospital, hospice or nursing facility visits.
I believe the “treasure in heaven” to which Jesus refers is a harvest to be planted and reaped from the dust of earth; with Jesus’ vision of a heaven on earth being the seed to be sown in the field of impermanence.
The place to begin is to admit a hard truth for many Christians: the Bible will not tell you so. The Christian scriptures have nothing to say about abortion.
I recently queried readers of my Doubter’s Parish website concerning their relationship with institutional religion. I specifically asked if they were (1) staying in church, (2) leaving, or (3) undecided.
In the midst of the chaos, which is Ukraine, Father Stephan spoke about life. Five funerals yesterday, a wedding and a baptism this morning. Father Stephan is from Kiev, where he hopes to return soon.
Almost two decades ago, during a combined Holy Thursday/Good Friday worship service, I told a true story from the Holocaust. The story involved a Polish army sergeant named Franciszek Gajowniczek and a Franciscan priest named Maximilian Kolbe.