Eternal God,
you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before time…
before meaning…
before noise…
before death…
before light was brought forth from darkness…
before existence itself, you, O Lord, have been our home;
our help; our hope, and our God.
We cannot fathom eternity;
and yet through Christ--
whose dying restored our life--
we shall live eternally with you.
Strengthen us in the knowledge
that there is no danger,
no disaster, no tragedy,
no mistake, no failure
no pain and no darkness—nothing--
that is beyond the redemptive power of your love for us.
God our Help, comfort us with the assurance
that you love Peter even more than we do;
and that you love us—even in our worst moments--
more than we could possibly imagine.
Because of the grief and perplexity we feel at this time,
we may be tempted to believe
that death has won this fight; but death shall not have the final word this day.
For the light came into the darkness and the darkness, the hopelessness, the despair did NOT overcome it.
And so we come before you in thanksgiving:
for Peter’s life and the beautiful light he shares with us.
We thank you, O Lord…
for the years we shared with him—all the days of those years: not just the best ones, the fun ones; but the ho hum and boring ones too—the understated days that make up every human life: each important, each a gift…
We thank you for the good we saw in him—as well as the less than perfect parts of him, the unique and even eccentric parts that, well, made Peter, Peter—the parts that will remain closest to our hearts…
And most of all, O Lord, we thank you for the love and warmth we received from him—the way he made us feel. And for this love, we are most grateful, for it’s the glue holding us together now, and it’s the bond that will bind us to Peter forever.
God our Hope, give us the courage to leave Peter in your care.
Confident that the promise of new and everlasting life in you
is not just an idea we preach and pray and sing about,
but a promise in which we can place our deepest trust and find rest and peace.
God our Home, remind us, as we leave this place, that wherever we are—wherever we go--
you are our dwelling place:
guarding us, sheltering us, and defending us
even unto eternity.
We pray in the name of the Risen Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and forever.
Amen.
you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before time…
before meaning…
before noise…
before death…
before light was brought forth from darkness…
before existence itself, you, O Lord, have been our home;
our help; our hope, and our God.
We cannot fathom eternity;
and yet through Christ--
whose dying restored our life--
we shall live eternally with you.
Strengthen us in the knowledge
that there is no danger,
no disaster, no tragedy,
no mistake, no failure
no pain and no darkness—nothing--
that is beyond the redemptive power of your love for us.
God our Help, comfort us with the assurance
that you love Peter even more than we do;
and that you love us—even in our worst moments--
more than we could possibly imagine.
Because of the grief and perplexity we feel at this time,
we may be tempted to believe
that death has won this fight; but death shall not have the final word this day.
For the light came into the darkness and the darkness, the hopelessness, the despair did NOT overcome it.
And so we come before you in thanksgiving:
for Peter’s life and the beautiful light he shares with us.
We thank you, O Lord…
for the years we shared with him—all the days of those years: not just the best ones, the fun ones; but the ho hum and boring ones too—the understated days that make up every human life: each important, each a gift…
We thank you for the good we saw in him—as well as the less than perfect parts of him, the unique and even eccentric parts that, well, made Peter, Peter—the parts that will remain closest to our hearts…
And most of all, O Lord, we thank you for the love and warmth we received from him—the way he made us feel. And for this love, we are most grateful, for it’s the glue holding us together now, and it’s the bond that will bind us to Peter forever.
God our Hope, give us the courage to leave Peter in your care.
Confident that the promise of new and everlasting life in you
is not just an idea we preach and pray and sing about,
but a promise in which we can place our deepest trust and find rest and peace.
God our Home, remind us, as we leave this place, that wherever we are—wherever we go--
you are our dwelling place:
guarding us, sheltering us, and defending us
even unto eternity.
We pray in the name of the Risen Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and forever.
Amen.