Velma McQueen Doss. December 1, 2023

Order of Worship

Welcome & Gathering

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and I am life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

Friends, we have gathered here to praise God and to witness to our faith as we celebrate the life of Velma McQueen Doss. We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss. May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow….hope, in death….resurrection.

prayer.

Song -

Old Testament Reading

Psalm 23 NIV

A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lordforever.

Pastoral Prayer

O God, who gave us birth, you are ever more ready to hear than we are to pray. You know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in asking. Give to us now your grace, that as we shrink before the mystery of death, we may see the light of eternity. Speak to us once more your solemn message of life and of death. Help us to live as those who are prepared to die. And when our days here are accomplished, enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life may be in you, and that nothing in life or in death will be able to separate us from your great love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Add prayer for Mark, Jan and family, grand children, great grandchild, sisters and extended family.

Amen.

Will you join me in the Lord’s prayer as you are able:

OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD, AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US, AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL. FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER AND EVER AMEN

Celebration of life

Velma McQueen Doss was born on February 23, 1943 to Thomas and Louise Green in Houston Texas. She moved to Magnolia in the early 1970’s and then moved to Onalaska Texas around 1995.

Velma was in banking for over 30 years where she started out as a teller and moved up to Supervisor position through the years. After she retired from banking, she put herself through beauty school and opened her own Hair and Nail Salon in Onalaska for the next 11 years. She loved to work in the garden, paint portraits, fish, camp, cook and dance. She could take the oddest of little things and turn them into something amazing for the house or yard. She was always so fashionable and fancy no matter where she was going. She loved being with friends and family especially on the holidays. Thanksgiving was always the best with her stuffing. She was the best Sister, Mom, Grandmother and friend to so many.

Velma departed this life on Friday, November 17, 2023 at home surrounded by family.

She was preceded in death by her Father Thomas Green Sr, Mother Louise Green, Brother Thomas Green Jr., Son Richard McQueen and husband Jim Doss.

She leaves to cherish her memory; her Son, Mark McQueen of Riverside, Texas, Daughter Jan Johnston and husband Ryan of Magnolia, Texas. Her Grand Girls; Monica McQueen Watson, Kayla McQueen Grady, Victoria Cantrell and Dallas Johnston. Great Grandchildren; Payden Thomason, Davin Grady Jr and Elisha Grady. Two sisters; Kathy Barr and Alice Owens both of Houston Texas and many many other family and friends.

Slide Show

Open mic to speak.

New Testament Reading and Message

Romans 8:28–30 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Romans 8:37–39 NIV

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pray.

It has been a real honor to continue to get to know this family. With my connection to the Taglioli family, I had the privledge to officiate the service for her brother Thomas Green earlier in the year. Appropriately these two are reunited today as they were such an important part of each other’s lives in these final years.

Velma, as has already been testified today, she was full of life. Even when life could be difficult. She loved to dance, even if noone would dance with her. She loved to garden. She loved to paint and had the skill to rearrange art in the house to match a new season or decor.

I am told that she could outdress us all.

A few words come to mind when I think of all the family has shared:

Hospitality:

Whether it was to friends or family, Velma had a way of bringing people in. Even if there wasnt much in the house, you would never leave hungry. When you met Velma, you know instantly that you had another friend, not just an aquaintance. She practiced love and loved life.

Survivor:

Velma’s life was full of ups and downs. From difficult times to Tornados, to multiple boughts with cancer. And in the end COPD and ALS and honestly, none of it defeated her. She didnt let any of it break her spirit. That is quite remarkable. I mean if a jerk cuts me off on the way home sometimes I can lose my cool. Not Velma. She was reslielient and strong.

Which leads to the last one:

Secure:

To go through all of this and especially in the end, maintain joy, love, hospitality, it came from a quiet security. Confidence in her faith, in her eternal future, love of life and those around her. She exuded all of this.

It is like she already had this mastered that the Apostle Paul is saying in Romans 8.... that nothing can seperate us from the love of God. Not cancer, not illness, not hardship, or loss.

But how? Where did this come from in Velma? And others that love in ways that are unimaginable. How can Paul say,

Romans 8:28 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Because remember, Paul was not absent of hardship, he was not skipped over when it came to suffering. Paul’s life is riddled with poverty, suffering, abuse, and even death for following his calling.

Paul was grounded in the gospel

The context of our passage brings us to a place of understanding how Paul could grasp this truth and how someone like Judy lived so fully.

Paul knew the life that God gives

There is a lot in chapter 8 in comparison of life in the flesh chasing selfish desires and life in the Spirit, but I want to draw your attention to one thing from 8:11...

Romans 8:11 NIV

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

To have a life in God is to have life now. Not just a future hopeful reality, but a life of forgiveness, healing, and power now. For those in Christ, the life giving Spirit of God is please to dwell.

2. Paul had a heavenly perspective

Secondly, Paul’s perspective was heavenly. We can see that from 8:18....

Romans 8:18 NIV

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Even in hardship, Paul knew that his life was not summed up in pain, or victories, or accomplishments, or anything else under the sun. Paul knew that our present life is the firstfruits of a future hope when the glory we will have in Christ shines brighter than any darkness or hardship.

This is what frees Christians (or should free Christians) to walk as non anxious, confident children of God… even when things are bleak.

Listen friends, Velma would not want you to feel sorry in the least for her this day. For she knew that this day would bring a glory that we can barely imagine.

3. Paul knew he was loved

He says nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus. (I think he would clarify, nothing that happens to us…because we can distant ourselves from that love. In the same way we push away others that love us, we do that with God in so many ways), but nothing else in this life can separate you from the love of God. Paul was as free as any person can be because he knew he was loved by Jesus.

So when Paul says, we are more than conquerors,

he is reminding us that we are more than survivors.

He is reminding us that we are as loved now in Christ as we ever will be

He is almost giving us this joyful battle cry.

And maybe Velma’s life can be inspiration for us to live out this way. Resilient, assured of the love God has for us, and stubborn to not let anything make us walk away from the love that will never leave us.

In the name of the Father. and of the Son. and of the holy Spirit.

Song

Benediction

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.