Graveside Service-Joyce McAllister
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Joyce Mae Ragsdale McAllister
Graveside Service, Oct. 30, 2023, 11 AM, Greenwood Cemetery
Welcome
We come this morning to celebrate the life of Joyce McAllister. She could be known possibly by this intimate group as “Momo”. On behalf of the McAllister family, Ross & Lynda, Gary & Susan and their families, 4 grandchildren and five great grandchildren, we thank you for your presence here today. This family would say “thank you” for all the many expressions of love over these days. When God’s Word calls us to:
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
For the other family and friends, God honors this gathering of loved ones as we love on each other and love on the Lord in His time of comfort, love, and sustaining grace.
Let’s pray.
Prayer
Oh gracious Father, oh Dear Jesus, on behalf of this loving family and friends, thank you for the life of Joyce McAllister. Lord we thank you for for Your deep immeasurable love. I can’t help but think of the beautiful song:
Lyrics In Times Like These
In times like these you need a Savior,
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
Lord, its on the rock of Your Son, Jesus that yes, we build the church, but we build our very lives on. Oh Dear Savior, thank you that I have the privilege of sharing with these family and friends of a dear sister than knew you, knew you intimately and as Your Scriptures comforts us this day:
8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
Bless our time as we commemorate Mrs. Joyce McAllister and we edify you Dear Jesus. IN Your precious name we pray, Amen.
Scripture Reading
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me 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 You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Oh this beautiful Psalm of David reminds us that God will be with us in all times and especially now dear family. He will see you through. Our time together today is to yes, memorialize Mrs. Joyce, but to offer you hope.
The Lord has left you here to live another day. Mrs. Joyce would want you to embrace that dear promise of our Lord.
John 10:10 “10 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” She would want you to live out that hope found in her Savior.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eulogy
For those that were not able to attend the funeral in Jonesborough, TN at her home church of Jonesborough United Methodist Church, you missed a real blessing. You might ask how I would know that.
My name is Luke Finkelstein, I am a local pastor and I have been close and known Donna and Denise, Mrs. Joyce’s nieces for many years. They asked me to share and I was honored. I spoke with Gary on the phone and the kindred spirit was kindled even more in our time of sharing. But when Gary shared the letter his mother wrote in 1977 about her life’s journey I was overwhelmed. Gary shared that the funeral was streamed on the Jonesborugh UMC website and I watched the service as I was so encouraged by her life.
For those that may be here today that was not able to attend the Jonesborough service, I will read a portion of the Obituary.
Obituary
Joyce Mae Ragsdale McAllister, 92, of Johnson City, passed away on September 29, 2023.
She was the second baby born in Montgomery, Alabama on January 1, 1931, the daughter of the late E.C. and Ida Mae Ragsdale.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband William Ross McAllister Sr., daughter Cynthia Joyce McAllister and sisters Florene Miller and Ernestine Owens.
She is survived by her sons Ross McAllister (Lynda) of Collierville, Tennessee and Gary McAllister (Susan Ellis and her children Samuel and Lillian Ellis of Johnson City); grandchildren Mac McAllister (Emily), Meagan Adams (Alex), Benjamin McAllister, and Molly Wood (Kevin); great-grandchildren Riley Adams, Clara Adams, Maddie McAllister, Lochlan Adams, and Wyatt McAllister; cousin Martha Sue Gilliland; and several nieces.
Brother Michael Lester and the Jonesborough UMC Family did a wonderful job commemorating Mrs. Joyce and ministering to your family.
“Momo”. I feel as if I knew her. Grandkids I gather she loved spoiling you with goodies, mentos, chocolate pies, taking you shopping and showing off standing on her hands in the swimming pool at 80 years of age, meeting Ronald Reagan and her soap star Eric.
Sure, life had hurts and uncertainties, but the phrase that stuck in her mind about the passing of Cindy and she closed the beautiful letter of her life with this phrase. “Fear Not, for she shall be made whole.”
Oh, I wonder at the time as she wrote that beautiful letter that encourages us all to the passing of her daughter Cindy that those words would be about herself. Oh dear family member, sons, and daughter in laws, nieces, grands and great grands, friends, God’s promises are true.
Message
2 Corinthians 5:1 “1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Earthly Body
92 years of age. Oh, I would have loved to meet her in person. I know she had spunk. I sense that she was a beautiful person inside and out. But I know tht no matter how youthful and full of vigor she was, these bodies wear out.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to the staff at The Courtyards Senior Living and to long time caregiver Rachel Birchfield.
Oh dear family and friends, Jesus’ body wore out for us. He was beaten, spat upon, and carried to the cross.
John 20:26–27 “26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.””
Over 500 witnesses saw Jesus. Mary hugged Jesus and He stated:
John 20:15–18 “15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.”
And then Paul talks about both a heavenly body and our heavenly home.
Heavenly Body
Jesus prophesied the new body would come after 3 days in the Scripture. As Jesus was before the Sanhedrin when they captured Him at the Garden of Gethsemane, one recited that Jesus said:
Mark 14:58 “58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ””
Oh yes dear family & friends,
Hebrews 9:11 “11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.”
Heavenly Home
Pastor Lester did a beautiful job ministering to you with:
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
God has build a plentiful place, there is room for Mrs. Joyce and there is room for you.
God has build a prepared place. Interesting thought. I imagine there will be flowers and swimming for Mrs. Joyce? Oh dear family and friends, there is a prepared place for you for the asking.
I know if Mrs. Joyce were here out of her love for you. Pastor Luke, make sure they know how to see me again.
Particular Place
It’s particular in that we can only go there by accepting the Lord’s invitation. Have you ever excepted that free gift of salvation of newness in life in Christ?
“I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.”
Closing Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father we come to you this morning in remembrance of Mrs. Joyce, “Momo” to some, mom, mother in law, grandmother, great grandmother, and many other family dynamics and friends here today. Oh heavenly Father, be with these that mourn over their loss. Comfort them as only You can. Weeping is normal because you wept. Love is a surrender of the heart and our heart yearns for our loved one.
God, your Word says:
1 John 4:16 “16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
Lord, may this family and these friends mourn differently in the hope found in Jesus Christ. May yYour Word sustain, may Your Holy Spirit comfort and may the memories of her goodness sustain, teach and learn from the time they enjoyed her presence. Lord, thank you for her life and thank you for the promise of seeing her again if we so choose.
Numbers 6:24–26 “24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’”