Graveside Service #1

Graveside Service

In the midst of life, we are in death;      from whom can we seek help?(NINTH CENTURY)

Our help is in the name of the Lord     who made heaven and earth.God who raised Christ from the dead     will give life to your mortal bodies also     through the Spirit that dwells in you.(, ALT.)

Listen, I will tell you a mystery!We will not all die, but we will all be changed.For this perishable body must put on imperishability,     and this mortal body must put on immortality.Then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:     

"Death has been swallowed up in victory."     

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

But thanks be to God,     who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray:

Almighty God,     into your hands we commend your son/daughter,     in sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life     through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This body we commit to the ground(to the elements, to its resting place ),     earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. (TRADITIONAL)

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors     for their deeds follow them.(, ALT.)

Let us pray

O Lord, support us all the day long of our troubled life,     until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,       and the busy world is hushed,       and the fever of life is over and our work is done.Then in your mercy grant us a safe lodging,     and a holy rest, and peace at the last;through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.