Funeral Readings

F1

Joy & Sorrow - The Prophet Kahlil Gibran

Then a woman said, Speak to us of joy and sorrow.
And he answered:
Your sorrow is your joy unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy it can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potters oven?
And is it not the lute that soothes your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

F2

MEMORIES AND PEACE

Why smile in such sadness,
It’s because of the memories
Of laughter shared in the past.

The humour of life,
The fun and the joy,
The reminiscences certain to last.

Why relief in such sadness?
It’s because there is peace
With no more chance of pain.

No-one can hurt, nor take away,
There will never be fear again.

F3

MISS ME - BUT LET ME GO

When I come to the end of the road
and the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little, but not too long
and not with your head bowed low
Remember the love that we once shared
Miss me but let me go.

For this is a journey that we all must take
and each must go alone
It's all a part of the Master's plan
a step on the road to home.

Whey you are lonely and sick at heart
Go the friends we know
and bury your sorrows in doing good deeds
Miss me, but let me go.

F4

Crossing The Bar - Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
To full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

F5

Death Is Nothing At All

by Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918), Canon of St.Paul´s Cathedral

Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room,
I am I and you are you,
Whatever we were to each other, that we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used,
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow,
Laugh as we always laughed,
At the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect,
Without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant,
It is the same that it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind,
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval,
Somewhere very near,
Just around the corner, all is well.