In this cosmic story’s thread Humans play a tiny part

Where is all this going? What can we ultimately hope for, for both the universe as a whole and our own individual life as part of that same whole?

Don’t be distracted my friends. Take a deep breath and remember your inherent goodness.

A New Year is only magical when we shine light in the darkness, when we choose to bless the world. It isn’t time to wait for miracles to happen, for some ritual to chase away what bedevils us.

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’.

O Dear One, we are overwhelmed with frustration with the impossibility of fully accepting this unacceptable death.

We 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”

1. Every tear is a womb which can birth new life. 2. Grief is the narrow passage through which we pass from death to life.

The art of blessing is often neglected. The birth of a New Year calls forth the desire in us to bestow a blessing upon those we love. Several years ago, John O"Donohue, one of my favorite Irish poet's created a New Year's blessing for his mother entitled Beannacht-for Josie. It is a blessing of superior quality. And so, on this New Year's Eve, may you all receive this beannacht with my added blessing for a peace-filled New Year in which the God in whom all of creation is held, might find full expression in your miraculous life!

Each day can be a life time. Time is the enemy only if we let it control our lives. Time is redeemed by timeless moments.

What wisdom I have Awakens me to my blindness. I cannot see light itself: What I know of light Is only an alluring shadow Of what it is and does.

Remembering our ancestors gives life to ourselves and also to them, for we are our ancestors and they are us.

The incarnational faith of Jesus invites us to live more deeply into our spiritual convictions day by day. This type of faith invites us not just into knowledge, but into lived experience. In today’s digital age, we can get just about any information we want over the internet. What we desire and crave, in life, and in faith, is not simply knowledge, but inspiration, experience, and integration.

Welcome to you all, to this time of remembrance and thanksgiving – and a time of sadness and tears too.

A meandering stream runs close to a rural church dear to his childhood With clear water in springtime, turned a sullied brown by summer's end

With such an expansive awareness of our universe and our place in it, it is necessary to pause and honor the corners we turn, the milestones, the past and the present. But meaning is lost when the words are irrelevant, when language is outdated, and practices are dogmatic and un-evolving. As progressive Christians, we are called to walk into the mystery of change, while at the same time keeping close to our hearts the timeless teachings of our tradition. Our life celebrations and rituals must then reflect this call, this necessary aspect of our path. Sacred community is a space to explore these traditions and to create new ones.

We come in sorrow, confronting the fact that life ends. Yet we also know that there is a power stronger than death—the transformative power of love. Love has joined us together...

If you can tell me where I'm going after I leave here, I won't be going there.

P: We have gathered here today to give thanks for and honor Name’s life. You have come because you are family - close family or extended family; or because you are friends – old, long-trusted friends or newer friends; or because you knew Name through other connections in his life. We have gathered to mourn his death and to grieve for our loss.

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 went to the funeral home last night to see a friend whose life was entwined with mine. Someone once told me that if you want to know the truth about a person's life go to their funeral.

Amazing Grace; it gives us birth, To each and everyone; This precious gift of life to live; This race for us to run.

As our lives tread onward, we find ourselves on the Earth side of a "door" Mortality certain to face us, we wonder what's beyond --what is the "more?"

A recent memorial service for a much-loved artist in our church ended with a poem and a prayer. The poem was “When Death Comes” by Mary Oliver,

At times like this, I wish more people who identify themselves as Christians or followers of Jesus knew more about the roots of their own tradition, Judaism. The Mother religion of our tradition has a very different kind of New Year called Rosh Hashanah. Jesus, or Yeshua, was a Galilean Jew. As should be expected, his teachings are heavily influenced by his own tradition and its teachers. For Jews, Rosh Hashanah is preceded with a long period of time for introspection. It’s time for looking back at the mistakes of the past year and thinking about those whom they may have harmed. This intentional self-inspection ends with the holiest of holidays, Yom Kippur, ten days later. The time in between is referred to as the Days of Awe or Days of Repentance.

Creator of conception, designer of formation, develop my day for your realization.

As we start this New Year we acknowledge the potential for new beginnings – the field of unlimited possibilities.

Step into the dawn. Cut the cord.
 Pull the plug.
 Break the chains
 that tie and bind.

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.