Carmen Elaine Chin-A-Young

Visitation (2 hours, 11am-1pm)

Playlist including: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Elvis, Johnny Cash

Announcement [12:50]

Hello everyone! May I have your attention, please. This is a 10 minute warning. We will begin the funeral service in 10 minutes, at one o’clock. Feel free to grab a drink or stop by the restrooms, and then find a seat for the service. There is extra seating, so please try to find a spot closer to the front near the podium. Please also remember to silence your cell phones. Again, we will start at one o’clock in 10 minutes. Thank you.

Words of Welcome [1:00 - 1:03, 3 min]

Thank you all for joining us here this morning. We are blessed to be surrounded by family and close friends during this difficult season.

I would like to welcome you to this funeral service in honor of Carmen Elaine Chin-A-Young, who passed away this Tuesday, on October 18, 2022, at 93 years of age. She was the widow of Roy Alvin Chin, who was her one great love and preceded her in death, November 1, 1974. She was also my paternal grandmother, and our family always knew her growing up as Grandma Chin-A-Young. She was known as a very devoted mother, and is remembered by her children for her inward strength, spirituality, sacrifice, and service. Her friends appreciated her generosity and time. Today we have gathered to remember her life.

Congregational Hymn [1:03 - 1:08, 5 min]

We will begin with a Congregational Hymn, which honors more than five years of grandma’s life as a choir member at Sheridan Hills Baptist Church in Hollywood, Florida. We will all be singing “It is Well with My Soul,” the hymn written by Horatio Spafford, a pastor and lawyer, shortly after his wife sent him the devastating news that all of his daughters had been lost at sea in a tragic shipwreck.

I’ll invite my wife, Raahail, to come up and lead us in singing three verses from the hymn. Please stand and join us using the lyrics printed in your service program.

Raahail to lead singing of It Is Well with My Soul

Scripture Reading [1:08 - 1:11, 3 min]

You may be seated. Thank you, Raahail. Now Uncle Alfonso will come up to read Scripture in honor of grandma’s life and to open us in prayer.

Alfonso to read Proverbs 31:10-31

Opening Prayer [1:11 - 1:14, 3 min]

Alfonso to pray for family and friends

Family Remarks [1:14 - 1:29, 15 min]

In just a minute, I am going to invite grandma’s children to come up and share their remarks about her life. Before we do that, though, I’ve been asked to read a remark prepared by Dr. Dorothy Davidson, the head mistress of the school grandma’s children attended in Jamaica. They remained lifelong friends for more than 40 years. Dr. Davidson says,

A truly great lady, devoted mother, and a remarkable loyal friend.

I have known many people in my lifetime, but you are one of the best. When your children attended Hillel Academy Preparatory School, as it was called then, the teachers were delighted with the disciplinary attitude of your children. Thanks to you. The staff also remembered that when they were “down and out,” you turned up in the staff-room with a cake that you baked for them.

I knew you when we were both at the heights of our lives, and we remained friends at the lows of our lives.

For me, no one can fill your enormous shoes!!

As obedient Christians, we cannot question God. He wants you home now! Quite sure your wings are waiting for you.

We pray blessings on your children and family.

Rest in peace my friend and may God's perpetual light shine upon you.

Now we will hear from Aunt Maureen, Uncle Ray, my dad Ralph, and Uncle Albert. Please come forward one at a time.

Children to read their prepared speeches

Pastoral Message [1:29 - 1:34, 5 min]

Thank you each for sharing these sweet memories. Trying to summarize a relationship in words is like trying to fit a ship in a bottle. Maybe you’ve seen it done, but it’s much harder than it looks. Each of these remarks represents just a fraction of grandma’s influence. Many of us are grandma’s direct descendants and would not exist today without her. We have more to thank her for than we may even realize. This is why we’ve gathered, to remember her life and to acknowledge her death.

Now I’d like to explain a Bible verse that summarizes what I think grandma would say if she could speak to us right now.

Acts 3:19, “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

The most important thing here is God’s command to “repent and return.” Most of us had to pack and travel to be here today. Imagine that, after leaving the house, you remember something that you forgot to pack. Oh no! You wonder, “Should I turn around, or should I keep going? How important is that thing?” You could talk yourself into thinking that you’re crazy—that it’s actually in the suitcase after all, or you could decide it’s not important and that you can do without it. Or, still yet, you admit to yourself that you did forget and that it is important, and then you go back to get it. Going back is what it means to repent and return.

1 John 1:8-10 says that when you sin, you cannot talk yourself into thinking that you never sinned or that what you did wasn’t actually sinful. Those things mean you’re a liar. Instead, it says that you must confess your sins specifically and explicitly so that Jesus can forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. You must turn away from your sin and demonstrate transformation in order to have confidence that your sins have been wiped away.

In addition, you must believe that Jesus was miraculously born of the virgin Mary and lived a perfectly sinless life by following all of God’s righteous law. He lived the obedient life you should have lived. But then He was brutally tortured and crucified by wicked men, and God the Father poured out on Him the blistering wrath that you deserve. And so God’s holy justice was satisfied. Jesus died in your place. He was condemned for your sin. PAUSE. But then, three days later, He was resurrected from the dead. God brought Jesus back to life, proving that Jesus alone had the power of a perfect life. Romans 10:9 explains how to respond, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the hope of the gospel.

At the end of Acts 3:19, God explains that repentance and cleansing are necessary to enjoy “times of refreshing” that will “come from the presence of the Lord.” Right now, our hearts are burdened—and rightly so—by grandma’s passing and the loss we’ve each experienced. PAUSE. The reality of death stirs up in us a desire to be refreshed, to be comforted and encouraged. This is why, in Matthew 11:28, Jesus proclaims, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus says that if you enter His presence, you will find rest for your souls and be refreshed. We just sang “It Is Well with My Soul,” and I would challenge you to consider whether things really are well with your soul. Are you at peace with God? Does His presence bring joy and rest for you, or is it an uncomfortable thought? PAUSE. If you are not refreshed by the presence of the Lord, then you need to repent and be cleansed of your sin. And for those of you who do know the Lord and are at peace with Him, renew your walk with Him and seek His presence in order to find times of refreshing even during this difficult season.

Thank you for considering these things with me. I know these are weighty topics and that your heart is already heavy as we reflect on grandma’s passing. But we refer to her death as a “passing” because, deep down inside, all of us know that death is simply the hallway to the joy of heaven or to the torment of hell. As I said before, this is what grandma would want you to know if she could speak to you today. You must repent and believe so that your sins will be wiped away, so that you can be refreshed by the presence of the Lord. Psalm 16:11 promises that “In God’s presence is fullness of joy; / In His right hand there are pleasures forever.” Do not get distracted trying to find comfort in worldly things; flee to Christ so that you can find rest for your soul and the peace that passes all understanding.

Parting Hymn [1:34 - 1:37, 3 min]

As we reflect on God’s promise of hope in the gospel, let’s join together in praising Him for his great mercy toward us.

I’ll invite Raahail to come back up and lead us in singing the Doxology as a congregational response to the service. Please stand and join us using the lyrics printed in the service program.

Raahail to lead singing of the Doxology

Closing Prayer & Committal [1:37 - 1:41, 3 min]

You may be seated. Now Uncle Alfonso will return to lead us in the closing prayer and the committal.

Alfonso to pray and read committal

Final Instructions

Thank you, Uncle Alfonso. Together we praise God for Carmen Elaine Chin-A-Young. We are thankful for her, and for the influence her life has had on each of us. As we come to the close of this service, I would like to invite Frank, the funeral director, to come up and share some closing comments.