The Burial of the Dead
Rite 1 (CPWI)
The Order Of Service
For
Lynda Gill
Thursday, February 27, 2025
St. James Parish Church 10:00 a.m.
The Organ Prelude

The Reception of the Ashes

Rev. Beverley Sealy-Knight

With faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the remains of our sister, Lynda in the Church of God, for burial. Our sister was washed in Holy Baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore, with confidence, pray to God our Heavenly Father, the Giver of life, that he will raise her to perfection in the company of the Saints.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And also with you.

V. Let us pray

O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our sister, Lynda. We thank you for giving her to us, her family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

One or more sentence may be read.

The Sentences

Jesus said. I am the resurrection, and I am the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and who ever lives and believes in me shall never die. John 11:25-26

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his compassion never fails: every morning they are renewed. Lamentations 3:22-23

Jesus said, Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1

I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of god in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord, so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Romans 14:8-9

We brought nothing into the world, and we take nothing out. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away: blessed be the name of the Lord.Job 1:21

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27

Poem 1

Poem 2

Poem 3


Hymn 661 Morning Has Broken (CPWI hymnal)

1. Morning has broken like the first morning,
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!

2. Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness where his feet pass.

3. Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning
born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God's re-creation of the new day!

The Collect

Almighty God, we remember before you today your servant Lynda, and we pray that, having opened to her the gates of larger life, you will receive her more and more into your joyful service, that, with all who have served you in the past, she may share in the eternal victory of Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading: Isaiah 61: 1-3 Gina Gill
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
Psalm 23 - Nicholson
  1. THE Lord is my shepherd: therefore can I lack nothing.
  2. He shall feed me in a green pasture. and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
  3. He shall convert my soul and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness for his Name's sake.
  4. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
  5. Thou shalt prepare a table before me, against them that trouble me: thou hast anointed my head with oil and my cup shall be full.
  6. But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
    7. Glory to the Father, and to the Son:
     and to the Holy Ghost;
    as it was in the beginning is now
     and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
Second Reading: John 10 11-16 Felicia Corbin
'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Hymn 7 - Abide with me

  1. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide:
    the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
    when other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
    help of the helpless, O abide with me.
  2. Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
    earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
    change and decay in all around I see;
    O thou, who changest not, abide with me.
  3. I need thy presence every passing hour;
    what but thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
    Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?
    Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
  4. I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless;
    ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
    Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
    I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
  5. Hold thou thy Cross before my closing eyes;
    shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
    heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
    in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
The Address
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God
the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers

Leader: For our sister Lynda, let us pray to the Lord Christ who said, "I am Resurrection and I am Life."

Leader: Lord, you consoled Martha and Mary in their distress; draw near to us who mourn for Lynda, and dry the tears of those who weep.
All: Hear us, Lord.

Leader: You wept at the grave of Lazarus, your friend, comfort us in our sorrow.
All: Hear us, Lord.

Leader: You raised the dead to life; raise our sister to eternal life.
All: Hear us, Lord.

Leader: You promised paradise to the thief who repented; bring our sister to the joys of heaven.
All: Hear us, Lord.

Leader: Our sister was washed in Baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit; give her fellowship with all your saints.
All: Hear us, Lord.

Leader: She was nourished with your Body and Blood; grant her a place at the table in your heavenly kingdom.
All: Hear us, Lord.

Leader: Comfort us in our sorrows at the death of our sister let our faith be our consolation, and eternal life our hope.

President: Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to you our sister Lynda who was reborn by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. Grant that her death may recall to us your victory over death, and be an occasion for us to renew our trust in your Father's love. Give us, we pray, the faith to follow where you have led the way; and where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen.


The Commendation
The Rev. Beverley Sealy-Knight


Give rest, O Christ, to your servant, Lynda, with your saints,
All: where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
All: Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

The Lord's Prayer:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.


Let us commend our sister Lynda to the mercy of God our Maker and Redeemer.

Deliver your servant, Lynda, O Sovereign Lord Christ, from all evil, and set her free from every bond; that she may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations; where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Into your hands, O merciful Saviour, we commend your servant Lynda. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him (her) into the arms of your mercy, in the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.


Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord:
And let light perpetual shine upon her.

May her soul, and the souls of the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in Peace.
Amen.
Hymn: 550 Lord of the Dance  
  1. I danced in the morning
    when the world was begun,
    and I danced in the moon
    and the stars and the sun,
    and I came down from heaven
    and I danced on the earth,
    at Bethlehem
    I had my birth
    2. Refrain:
    Dance, then, wherever you may be,
    I am the Lord of the Dance, said He,
    And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
    And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He.
  2. I danced for the scribe
    and the Pharisee
    but they would not dance
    and they wouldn't follow me;
    I danced for fishermen,
    for James and John -
    they came with me
    and the Dance went on:
    3. Refrain:

  3. I danced on the Sabbath
    and I cured the lame:
    the holy people
    said it was a shame.
    They whipped and they stripped
    and they hung me on high,
    and they left me there
    on a cross to die:
    4. Refrain:

  4. I danced on a Friday
    when the sky turned black -
    It's hard to dance
    with the devil on your back.
    They buried my body
    and they thought I'd gone;
    But I am the Dance
    and I still go on:
    5. Refrain:

  5. They cut me down
    and I leapt up high;
    I am the Life
    that'll never, never die;
    I'll live in you
    if you'll live in Me -
    I am the Lord
    of the Dance, said He!
    6. Refrain:
 

   Nunc Dimittis (KJV)

LORD, now lettest thou thy servant
 depart in peace:
 according to your word

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation:
 which thou hast prepared
 before the face of all people;
 to be a light to lighten the Gentiles:
 and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son:
 and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning,
 is now, and ever shall be; World without end.
Amen.



The Organ Postlude


The Poems

I’m There Inside Your Heart    Anonymous

Right now I’m in a different place
And though we seem far apart
I’m closer than I ever was…
I’m there inside your heart

I’m with you when you greet each day
And when the sun shines bright
I’m there to share the sunsets, too…
I’m with you every night

I’m with you when the times are good,
To share a laugh or two,
And if a tear should start to fall…
I’ll still be there for you.

And when the day arrives
That we no longer are apart
I’ll smile and hold you close to me…
Forever in my heart.

Death Is Nothing At All    by Henry Scott-Holland

Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just round the corner.

All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Afterglow    Anon

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 when life is done.