Funeral For Donna Powell

Special Music

My heart will go on by Celine Dion.

Welcome

Good Afternoon

Thank you for joining us today as we say so long to a Donna Powell.

Someone who was sincerely loved in this church, and someone who will be dearly missed by many.

Saying so long to someone is one of the hardest parts of our jounry in this life.

And it calls for freinds and family to come together and help lift each other up as we nagivate this season of life.

Today, there will be some who will come and share fond memories of donna.

Were going to play a couple of songs that the family holds dear in her honor.

And i will be sharing a few brief scriptures and remarks as well.

Afterwards, we invite you to join us in the back for a meal.

But as we begin, will you join me in a word of prayer?

Prayer

Gracious heavenly father. I thank you for the time we have today to gather together. I thank you that even though we gather to grieve and mourn we can draw strength, peace and comfort from you in times such as these. You are the rock that we can stand upon when the waves of tragedy and grief bear down heavy upon us. I also thank you that we do not walk through these dark times alone, but you surround us with friends and family to help hold us up and see us through. We also know that your word promises that you walk though these times by our side. Today, you see the hurt and the sorrow in our hearts. The pain of seperation that we are already feeling. I ask that in these next few moments we have together that you would minister to us. Bring peace to our hearts, like you did on the seas with your disicples. Help us to find closure as say so long. Helps us to share the wonderful memories we have of Donna. Finally, I ask that you would remind us of the love and comfort you offer to each of us through times like this. Guide our time today. In Christ name we pray. Amen.

Obituary

Donna J. Powell, aged 57, passed away on September 3, 2023, leaving behind cherished memories and a legacy of love. Born on August 23, 1966, to her parents Leroy Presock and Patricia Youst, Donna brought joy into the lives of those she encountered.

She shared her life with her loving husband Ronnie Powell, and she was a devoted stepmother to Stephanie Bulles. Donna also cherished the memory of her late stepson, Brian Powell. As a sister to Gertie, Leroy Jr., Ralph (Angel), and Edward, Donna was a source of warmth and support to her family.

Donna's heart was vast, and she showered her nieces and nephews with affection. She will be remembered as a beloved aunt to Holly (Brian), Lindsey, Alexis, Joe Jr., Chelsea, Beau, Ashley, Leroy III, and Brittany. Her influence extended to the next generation as she embraced her role as a great aunt.

Donna's zest for life was infectious. She found joy in the simple pleasures, particularly her love for shopping, with a special affinity for purses. Her spiritual connection was profound, as she found solace and inspiration in attending church. Donna's adventurous spirit ensured she was always on the move, reluctant to stay at home for too long.

Above all, Donna was a compassionate soul who extended her love and warmth to everyone she met. Her genuine happiness was a beacon of light that brightened the lives of those fortunate enough to know her. Donna's legacy of love and her unwavering positivity will forever be cherished by her family and friends.

Special Song 1

For the next few moments im going to ask that you direct you attention the speakers as we are going to play a special song.

Play - “In the arms of an angel”

Memories

At this time Maria Fornaro is going to come and share a few words about Donna.

Open Call for Memories

Donna left on impact on many of the lives she encountered.

No Doubt that is likely one of the reasons you are here today.

We have already heard from some who have shared.

At this time I am going to open up the service to anyone who would like to share a Fond memorie about Donna.

Special Song 2

Donna loved coming to church.

She loved the Lord and her passion for him was evident in her life and talk.

One of her favorite hymns was amazing grace.

Donna Schultz is going to lead us in this song now.

Scriptures and Remarks

Today, for just a few moments, I would like to share a few scriptures with you

Scriptures that I personally know Donna believed.

Scriptures I know she found solice and comfort in.

And scriptures that I believe can comfort us as well today.

John 14:1–7 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

A Place Prepare

Jesus is talking to the disicples in John chapter 14

and he is speaking about a time that, in the story, is still yet to come.

A time where, he too, will leave this earth and those that love him will be seperated from him physically.

They will no longer be able to see him, touch him, or call to him in the same way..

and he knows that this time that is coming, is going to cause them to question many things

and they will have some difficulty nagivating this new reality .

us

many of us are there today.

navigating a new norm where we have been seperated from someone that we love.

Last friday Night, Donna was posting on facebook about how great she was recovering from surgery.

Some of us were making plans with her to go and do things this last week.

And the Saturday came, and changed everything forever..

We unwillingly entered a new season of life..

A season that frankly is painful, and hurts..

A season that is different, and theres nothing we can do to go back..

Death will come

We know we will all pass from this earth at some point.

The bible says that that time is an appointed time..

Even though we may not understand or like the cirunstances around it..

We know death will happen at some point..

Its inescapable..

Jesus

And Jesus was trying to tell his followers this season would come even for him in his earthly body.

He had warned them his life would be taken.

Violently if you will..

and though he would rise again he would not stay

as he would assend to heaven.

BUT WITHIN THIS WARNING JESUS BRINGS HOPE..

HOPE THAT WAS NOT JUST FOR THE DISIPCLES…

BUT HOPE THAT IS STILL ALIVE FOR YOU AND I..

What is hope

What is hope?

Hope is the promise that in the end, we will be victorious..

Hope is the promise that the current circumstances dont dictate the final outcome..

Hope is the promise that though we weep and mourn now, Joy comes in the morning..

Hope is the promise that in the end it will all work out..

dispite the circumstances..

Jesus gives them, and us hope..

Look what he says in verse

John 14:3 ESV

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Preparing a place

Jesus tells them.. yes I am going.. but I am going to prepare a place for you..

that you may be there also..

We may be seperated for a little while..

But in the end, there is a hope and a promise that we will once again be reunighted..

Now and then

You see right now we are sorrowful about the loss of a friend, a sister, a wife, an aunt..

but Donna has found peace in a way that we will all have the oppurtunity to find one day..

She has found the place that christ has prepared for those who love him..

Shes found her room in the father house..

Shes found heaven..

The race she ran most of her life to win..

Heaven

the bible says heaven is a wonderful and beautiful place..

No Pain

Its a place of no sorrow

no pain..

their now tears..

or hurt.

No sickness

All of the earthly problems donna had in her health as no longer..

She doesnt have need for surgery anymore..

her knees dont hurt anymore..

Her kidneys arnt a problem anymore..

now she has peace.

Beautiful

Its a place of great beauty

a single gate made from a single pearl..

streets of gold..

a chrystal sea..

and most of all..

Presence of God

the a place of eternally being in the preassence of her savior..

Jesus..

The moment she shut her eyes here.. and her life ended.

her eternal life began in the preasence of God..

This is a place that Jesus didnt just prepare for the disicples..

Its a place that isnt just prepare for donna..

But its prepared for us all..

Fully restored relationship with God as he intended it to be when he created mankind in the garden.

This is what Donna Believed..

What she knew..

How do we get there?

The disicples asked Jesus a question though..

That is also relavant to us today..

They said Jesus..

How do we get to this place?

We dont know the way..

But Jesus repsonded in verse 6

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The only way to the place preared for us..

The only way to heaven..

The only way we are reunited with Donna is again..

Is by knowing Jesus as she did.

Thats what she believed..

Donna

I knew donna and ronnie pretty well.

They have been here I believe the entire 6 years I have ..

And they have always been encouraging, and uplifting people to me..

Even on a bad sunday, when I preached a lousy sermon, ronnie would come up and say good sermon pastor..

They didnt have much

but they loved to love on others with the little they did have..

Wedding

a couple of year into pastoring here and donna came to me and said pastor we need to talk.

I said ok, whats up..

She said, ronnie and I have been together for a while..

but we want to make things right with God.. those were her words.. and we want to offically get married..

They had some concerns and hesitations because of some finacial things..

but after some talking they descided to do so..

and so we had a wedding..

right here..

int his altar.

and then we went across the street and celebrated..

and her an ronnie had their first dance..

We even bent the rules so they could, because the church doesnt allow dancing at parties during rentals.

And her smile that day was giant..

It was a beautiful day..

But what has alway stuck out to me in that story..

but depsite what it may cost her..

despite what they may lose..

They both wanted to be right with god..

life

Donna lived her life that way.

she loved the lord..

she wanted to be right iwth god in all she did..

not she wasnt perfect im sure..

none of us are..

but she strived for it with all she could..

why?

Because she knew Jesus was the one who came to give his life for her..

and that he was the way the thruth and the life..

the only way to heaven..

and now.. thats where she is..

in his arms..

We will see her again

The hope we have today is that we too can make heaven our home..

When we are the one people are gathering to say so long too..

If we know Jesus like Donna knew Jesus we will one day see heaven as well

Reunighted..

but the bible tells us something else as well..

Paul writing to the thesalonians tells us this…

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Paul tells us there is coming a day..

when, if we know Jesus as personal savior as well..

that We will be reunighted with donna again as well.

To live with christ forever more..

that means that this doesnt have to be goodbye..

but rather see you in a little while..

but like donna..

we have to know Christ and have our own relationship with him..

Legacy

so often we talk about legacy when people pass.

What did they leave for those who loved them..

What way of life would they want to live on..

With donne I believe there were a few..

Love

first and formost was love..

Donna loved people in an uncommon way..

She really didnt seem to know a stranger..

And didnt care what you had or didnt..

and in this love she cared for others more than herself..

Shopping

ive been told she loved to shop..

She loved purses..

and had an affinity for them..

Joy

we could talk about the joy she had..

and how infectious it was to others..

even on a bad day she could laughf and make you laugh..

Jesus

But im telling you..

the most important legacy Donna left was Jesus..

And her love and devotion to him..

and if anything lives on through you about Mrs donna..

let it be Jesus..

A relationship with Jesus..

because he is the only thing that will last forever and into eternity..

and the only way to heaven..

Poem

As we close I would like to read you a poem.

I read it at every funeral I do becuase I believe its speaks volumes about the grieving process.

Its author is unknown.

But its words ring very true during times such as this and the times that will follow this day.

As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.

In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything…and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.

Somewhere down the line, and it’s different for everybody, you find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming. An anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O’Hare. You can see it coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out.Take it from an old guy. The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don’t really want them to. But you learn that you’ll survive them. And other waves will come. And you’ll survive them too.

Closing Remarks

In the coming days and weeks there will certianly be many times where grief will come in waves..

undoubtable for some it already has.

I encourage you to give into these waves.

To let yourself mourn and grieve..

to let your emotions out..

and I promise at somone point..

memories, like the poem as will become sweet..

with a person like donna, its not too hard to find wonderful memories to think about..

And you will end up cherishing them for life..

Closing Prayer

Before we dimiss I would like to pray one more time.

I also want to remind you that after dismissal there will be a dinner int he back for anyone who would like to attend.

The funeral direct will also be coming after this prayer to give final instructions.

Will you join me in a final word of prayer?

Dismissal

Father I thank you for the time we have had together today. I thank you for your presence in this place and the hope that your word gives us. I thank you that we have hope that, if we know christ, we will one day see donna again. Father, I know that this may conclude our service but it does not conclude the grieving process and I ask as we leave here that your holy spirit would go with us and continue to minister peace to us. Help us to navigate this difficult time and remind us regularly of your presence. Give us strength, give us peace, give us comfort as only you can bring these in an abundant way. Help us to remember the beautiful times we have shared together with Donna. Times that will live on forever in our memories. We love you and again we thank you for your presence in our life’s that enables us to make it through days such as this. In Jesus name we pray… Amen.