Celebration of Life Service for Morwenna

Psalm 23 (ESV-CE)

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even 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.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

1 Corinthians 13:4–13 (ESV-CE)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Psalm 84 (ESV-CE)

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise!

Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength;

each one appears before God in Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob!

Selah

Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Stephen Fry, Ashes story within a story.

Death as birth.

Eulogy (Eve) - Joy and sadness/desire for unity and for good.

We will be reunited.

Frantic hair-washing.

Thanks

Musicians - Jill, Ian, & Grace

Readers - Ruth, Matt, and Steve.

Contributions - Philippa, Rachel, Hilary, Kate/Alison

Eulogy - Eve

Owen

How many Church of England Clergy does it take to change a light bulb? 7. One to change it and six to complain about how they preferred the old one!

Thank Epworth Baptist Church.

Baptism passing through waters.

Israel and waters.

Death as birth.

Owen thinks that the last thing to go is your hearing (like in the womb?).

Bigger story and ashes.

Conlict/cricket.

Influence gentle but won conflict with death

So many people contacting to say how much she affected them - people she wouldn't have realised, from 20 years ago in Bedford etc.

How do we find spiritual growth in death?

Quality of care excellent.

Died peacefully.

Sang at the end.

Owen read Psalm 23 to her.

Narrative of God.

Let us pray ...