Woodlawn Christian Church Sesquicentennial Celebration 9/13/15

Sign in front of the abandoned Lohrville Christian Church
Lohrville, Iowa

Well this past Sunday, September 13th, 2015 was the official 'Sesquicentennial Celebration' here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  One hundred and fifty years ago on the 6th of September, a group of men and women came together and started a small church which would eventually evolve into the 'Woodlawn Christian Church' that we know and love today.

We had a good turnout for the service and it was a great event. Originally, we'd hoped to worship outside that morning, but it was a bit too cool for some of the members so we opted to stay in the Sanctuary.  After the service, we of course had a potluck luncheon.  The Church provided the meat and buns and the side dishes were all provided by the members of the congregation.  As always, it was a great feast and I for one certainly ate far, far too much food.

Julie Gibson our area Associate Regional Minister, was here at Woodlawn Christian in order to join in on the festivities.  It was great to have Julie here with us again, she has been such a steadying force for the church as it went through it's long and frustrating search for a new minister; and we're very happy to maintain that relationship with her now that hopefully things are off on a more stable footing.

Woodlawn Christian Church, Sept 13, 2015
Lake City, Iowa
Pastor Roy Karlen

Prior to the service starting, myself along with a few of the men decided to go ahead and try to locate the 'rumored' time capsule that was supposedly buried by one of the Vacation Bible School classes back in 1974.  We suspected that it was buried under a rock that is situated in front of the old tree where so many of the classes back then would take their class photographs.

Lonnie Daisy, Jeff Frank & Clyde Westcott
Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, IA

Armed with three shovels and a giant pry bar we managed to dig up the rock.  We immediately realized that just as an iceberg conceals most of it's mass, this rock was a hidden giant.  We were able to dig the hole in such a fashion that we were able to roll the rock over and check underneath.  After going down several additional inches (digging made difficult by a considerable number of large tree roots) we found nothing.  By this time a member had shown up with a metal detector and we checked the bottom of the hole.  There was no response from the detector.

We continue to gather details as more folks are discovered who remember the burial of the capsule.  Just this morning Evelyn Johnson told me that her husband Darryl believes he remembers where it is buried.  Darryl is recovering from an illness right now and hopefully he'll soon be strong enough to come to church and point out the exact spot.  We haven't given up hope of finding the capsule quite yet.  Another individual was able to tell us that it's buried in an old metal ice cream bucket.  Hopefully, we'll be lucky and the metal won't have completely corroded away after forty one years of being buried.

I've attached to this post the video of the Children's Sermon above, along with the video of the Sermon itself which is linked directly below.

The photo of the sign at the very top of the blog today, is the sign that sits in front of the old Church of Christ in Lohrville, IA.  The building is no longer being used as unfortunately the congregation voted to close a number of years ago.  The building and the land belong to the Region and just yesterday I was successful in purchasing the sign from the Region.  We will be moving the sign over to Lake City in the near future.  There will be no restoration to the sign as it's in a magnificent state of weathering as it currently is.  We will investigate how to keep it from deteriorating any farther while still keeping it's absolutely beautiful state of aging intact.  I just love this old sign and I'm so very excited that the Church Council went along with their crazy Pastor and allowed me to negotiate for it's purchase.  It's wonderful that this old sign can once again serve a Disciples of Christ Church in the nearby area.

As always, I thank everyone who has wandered through this humble little blog and I hope you've found something enjoyable or perhaps something useful to you in your spiritual journey.  May the good Lord bless you and guide you along your path.

In Christ,
Roy

Sermon 9/6/15 - "Those Difficult Verses in Scripture"

Trinity Lutheran Church, Reliance, South Dakota

This past Sunday's sermon covered the verses found in the Gospel of Mark 7:24-30.

Mark 7:24-30

24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

These verses are some of those that make one want to say "really Jesus, seriously...".  They're difficult because of course Jesus sounds like... well like a jerk to be honest.  In my sermon, I encouraged everyone to not take the easy way out of this problem.  The easy way out of course is the all too common and wrong in my opinion, statement that "Jesus is just testing the woman", I'm afraid it's not that easy nor that painless.

We need to bear in mind that the Gospel of Mark is (of the four canonical gospels) the one where we find the most 'human' Jesus.  As I say in the sermon, here we find Jesus letting his 'human' show.  It may be a more difficult reality for us, but ultimately it also speaks more to us as human beings.  Here we find a Jesus that is also human, one that we can relate to far better than we are used to being able to.

Well, that's all I'm going to say about it... to find out more you'll just have to watch the video and hear the sermon.

As always please remember to "be a blessing to someone today!"

In His Love and unending Grace,
Roy

PS: This coming weekend we will be celebrating our 150th 'birthday' for the congregation here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  We're all very excited and looking forward to having an outdoor service and then a picnic afterward.  One of the other things that we're doing to celebrate is collecting items to bury in a 'time capsule' to be exhumed in the year 2040.  This evening while I was getting ready for my workout the doorbell rang and I found Lonnie Daisy at the front door.  He had just found out tonight from his younger brother that the Vacation Bible School class back in the summer of 1974 had buried a time capsule in the yard near the Chapel.  Lonnie had come down to look near where his brother told him it was buried and not too far away he discovered a rock just showing out of the ground near the base of an old tree that many of the old vbs classes had taken their class photos in front of.

Long story short, not many people knew of this 'time capsule' being buried and even fewer are still members.  We'll be investigating further and hopefully, we'll find this long forgotten 'time capsule' it will be great to see what a group of youngsters felt they wanted to leave for the future.  It's been buried in the Church lawn for 41 years and if Lonnie hadn't mentioned to his brother that we were getting ready to bury another time capsule, this one might have remained there for only God knows how many years.

I'll report back...

Woodlawn Christian Church, Lake City, Iowa
Pastor Roy Karlen's photograph

Sermon from August 30, 2015 - Pastor Roy Karlen - Woodlawn Christian Church

I've attached the video of the sermon from last Sunday at the bottom of this blog post.  It's in two parts because the camera stopped once and rather than messing around and merging them I just decided to put them up separately.

This past Sunday our dear friends Greg & Terri Powell came over to see us in Lake City.  We had a chance to go out to dinner with them on Saturday evening and also to enjoy breakfast and lunch with them Sunday before they had to head back to South Dakota.

It was wonderful to get to spend some time with them and I'm very appreciative that they traveled so far just to see us and to come to worship with us on Sunday.  Poor Greg didn't realize that if friends or family come to see me that they often end up being used as a sermon illustration.  

I hope this short blog post finds you all well and blessed.

In His Grace,

Roy

Sermon From August 23rd / Stumbling Blocks

This week's sermon was about 'Stumbling Blocks'.  The scripture which it was predicated upon was Chapter 8 of 1st Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 8 - New International Version (NIV)

Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols

8 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.[a]

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Far too often in life we ourselves are stumbling blocks to other Christians as well as to individuals who are unbelievers who might under the right approach become followers of Christ.  I'll confess and admit that at times I think Christians are their own worst enemy, we all too often appear to be unforgiving and entrenched on either the left or the right theologically.  One of the things that I very much like about the Disciples of Christ denomination, especially here in the Upper Midwest Region is the great diversity within the denomination.  There is room for everyone no matter where they fall left to right.  For me as one who has theological positions on both sides, this is the perfect home.  I am all for remaining in dialogue with others with whom I might disagree, all the while making no effort to cause their personal beliefs in God and His grace and love to be threatened.  It would be my constant prayer that I should never  be a 'stumbling block' to another.  One of my personal mantras is that "it's not my job to take you along with me on my spiritual journey, it's my job to help you along on your own path."

I've attached the video for the sermon, I pray that it finds all who have 'stumbled' through this blog post well and blessed.

In His Constant Love & Care,

Roy

Sermon delivered August 23, 2015 -  Woodlawn Christ Church, Lake City, Iowa.

Pastor Wm Roy Karlen

Video of Sermon from August 2nd and 9th

I apologize for not getting the sermon up last week, it's been busy and I just didn't get around to it like I had hoped to do.  I've gone ahead and included two weeks worth of sermons for you this week so if you're so inclined there's plenty to watch and/or listen to.

Below you will first find two videos of the August 2nd Sermon.  Unfortunately, there was a bit of a camera issue and just a tiny bit of the sermon was cut out in between the two videos.  Part of the time was utilized as commentary about several issues in the news cycle right now.  The most important of which is the issue of the videos and Planned Parenthood.  I am a staunch opponent of abortion and am appalled at the manner and the tone which the managers of these 'clinics' exhibit in these videos.

I have ordered a book written by Abby Johnson who was a director of a Planned Parenthood clinic down in Texas.  She has stated that over 90% of the women that came to them with pregnancies ended up undergoing an abortion.  This is an abomination, abortion should always be the last alternative and the goal should always be to render them to being exceedingly rare in occurrence.

For those who have suffered through the regret and anguish of an abortion, this link provides a source for counseling and healing.

Counseling and Support Network for Women concerning Abortion

Next up is a video of the sermon given here on August 9th.  At the end of the sermon, I read the letter that I've prepared for the 'Time Capsule' that we will be burying as part of the Sesquicentennial celebration in September.  The very end of the reading was missed as Ryan thought I was done before I got to the end of the reading.  As a result, I've attached a copy of the letter to the end of this blog post.

 In the morning today Evelyn Johnson and I went out to Shady Oaks to conduct a worship service for the residents.  It's always a joy to go out and worship with all of them as they're all so happy and glad to see us there.  

This afternoon I had a meeting with a young couple about possibly performing a wedding for them here in November.  I will be putting together a series of counseling sessions for them to finish prior to the wedding.  They are only 23, but I'm pretty comfortable with them as they've known each other since 5th grade and have remained friends all this time.  I'm very much looking forward to getting to know them and to helping them understand fully the commitment that they are about to undertake.  Praise God for His work in their lives.

I pray that this blog post finds everyone who wanders through very well and richly blessed.

In His Constant Love & Grace
Roy

Letter to Woodlawn Christian Church in 2040:

To the Pastor and the Congregation of Woodlawn Christian Church in the fall of 2040.

Hello and greetings from Woodlawn Christian Church in the fall of 2015. The occasion we are celebrating today is the 150th Anniversary of the founding of Woodlawn Christian Church here in Lake City, Iowa. The Church has had a long and wonderful history here in this place and as a part of our celebration we have decided to reach across time to you at the Church's 175th Anniversary Celebration. Congratulations, and well wishes to you all for your long and tireless service.

My name is Roy Karlen, but I prefer to just be called either Pastor Roy or just plain Roy. I've only just recently come here to Woodlawn Christian Church as your Pastor after a lengthy search process for both the church and myself. Ultimately, God has led us together and we all pray that it's for the best for all concerned.

No doubt among you there today are a number who are here with us now as we bury this time capsule in September of 2015. Perhaps I'm even there with you all, but if I am, I'm now even older than Jim Bruce is today, so please.... keep an eye on me.

Possibly among you are Ryan or Kimberly Daisy, Emily Winker, Spencer Moon or Kolten, Noah, Holden or Hayden Hildreth, if they're not I'm positive each has gone on in the meanwhile to have good productive and Christ led lives, spreading the love of Christ and the lessons they've learned here in Lake City far and wide. As to who else might still be here, well the rest of us I'm afraid to say are a bit more of a long shot, but certainly many of us are still here working to continue the legacy of Woodlawn Christian Church in the Lake City Community. For all those that are gathered who remember me, hello to you once again my old friends and fellow Disciples. To all of you there whether you remember me or not, I give to you all God's Love, Blessing, Grace, and Peace. Thank you all for continuing to do God's work in this wonderful community. May God lead you along the path of service and devotion to His creation.

My time here at Woodlawn is just now beginning. Together with all the wonderful souls here we are working as one to try and determine how best to serve this community as times continue to change for small towns in the Midwest. By the time you're reading this, you'll know how successful we all were in discerning God's directions and guidance. Whatever it is that we have done, I pray earnestly that it has been through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and with the Father's blessing. Our goal is to honor the past by working to serve the present and to prepare the Church and it's people for the future. Hopefully, as you look back upon our efforts they have been successful. No matter or not, our commission to you is the same as our fore-bearers here at Woodlawn Christian have left to us; to honor that great history of this Church organization (for you now 175 years), and to continue to serve, build and prepare.

To the people of the congregation at Woodlawn in 2040, I want to thank you for the time that I had here as your Pastor. This place, Lake City, Iowa is a wonderful town filled with wonderful souls. Both Gail and I are so very grateful for the time we will have had to spend here worshiping and serving with you all. God's very best to you all.

To the current Pastor at Woodlawn Christian, I have no idea how many years God granted me to be here in Lake City. I have no way of knowing if it was a very long or a very short ministry. The only thing that I can pray is that no matter the length, that it was a meaningful time for both myself and the good people at Woodlawn Christian. At times like these one wants to state words that sound profound and grandiose, to impart some past and long forgotten wisdom onto those that are to come after us... I have no such words.

I have no idea if you are new here in ministry or if you've already been here for years, perhaps more years than I was here. Only our Father knows what lies ahead for each and any of us, we just live our lives as He guides us and as long as we remain faithful to His leadings all will work out well in the end. No... I have no profound words to leave you with, for ultimately I'm a simple person living a simple life, simply trying to do what I'm directed to do. But God's people don't really need nor do they especially want words that bewilder or perplex, what God's people need is for you to love them. God's love extended through you will have a far, far greater impact on the lives of the people that He has sent you to serve than any words you or I could ever muster.

Again to the people here at Woodlawn Christian, it has been my great pleasure to speak to you all once again in the form of this letter. May this short note find you all well and blessed, and if you remember nothing else from my time with you, remember this:

Be A Blessing To Someone Today,
Pastor Roy

My part of the August Newsletter here at Woodlawn CC

What follows are the two articles that I write each month for the Church Newsletter.  These are the articles written for the August 2015 newsletter.

Have a very blessed day, week, year and life.

Pastor Roy

Pastor's Report:

Well, July certainly was a busy month here at Woodlawn Christian Church.  We had the Vacation Bible School here at the church, and I have to tell you that I enjoyed it immensely.  We had a great turnout of children and helpers and the week was just a pure joy.  I can't begin to think of all the people that need to be thanked for helping out so, I'll just thank Jodi Frank and Janet Daisy and allow them to spread the accolades on from there.  But, truly I do thank each and everyone who was involved in this wonderful ministry. I am already looking forward to this event next year, and also thank you, Janet and Jodi, for letting me teach some of the classes.

On the 12th, there was my formal installation service here at Woodlawn.  I was very pleased with the number of folks that showed up for the service and the potluck that followed.  We had the privilege of hosting some special guests that day as well.  These are individuals who have been instrumental in my personal faith journey that has led me here to be with you all.  I mentioned them last month, but I will do so once again.  Kathy Brown (the wife of my late mentor Jesse), Susan Gillies, Bob Molby and his wife Marcie, my mother in law Mary Engleman, my brother Merrill Karlen and his wife Karen, and also Gail was here along with both of our children Creath and Madeline.  Creath played his violin as part of the service and was very well received.  It was also great to see Marge Walters make it to the church and I thank Leon and Judy for going out and picking her up.  It was also the first time that Kim Gregg made it to a service while I have been here.  Thank you all and God Bless you all!

Ellen O'Loughlin had the Calhoun County Robotic Clinic using our facilities for classes the week after the VBS, and the ten or so children that took part had a great time learning and being exposed to a bit about robotics.  With the way the world looks to be going, skills with working with anything technology related cannot be stressed enough for our children.

Finally this month Evelyn and I were able to conduct our first worship service out at Shady Oaks together.  For one reason or another we've had to cancel this service several times.  It went very well and I'm looking forward to this as part of our monthly ministry.

Have a very blessed and abundant month and remember...

Be a blessing to someone today!
Pastor Roy


Pastor's Pondering:

July found me conducting the second funeral service that I've had since coming here as your settled Pastor.  This past month Steven 'Wiley' Main passed away.  He was well known in the community and died suddenly at the all too young age of 57.  The service was held at Lampe's Funeral Home and the Luncheon was held in our Fellowship Hall.  I want to thank all of the individuals involved in putting together the lunch, you all did a remarkable job and Gloria does a fantastic job as the point person for this ministry.  Certainly, one of the most important ministries we can have is coming to the aid of a family when they have lost a loved one.

Even though it has been a while since the Main family regularly attended church, they identify as a part of our church family.  As I urged you all during service this past Sunday, I will urge you again to please reach out and support this family as much as you possibly can.  God needs all of us to be his angels in this world.  There can be little more tragic than losing a loved one so unexpectedly, and the grief process is just beginning for this local family.

Steven's passing serves as a stark reminder to all of us that tomorrow is never promised.  Hug your family when you are able, tell them you love them often, for from day to day we just never know what might come out of the blue.

Ironically, just the day before I got the call that Steven had passed away, I was in South Dakota at the committal service for my Aunt Silvia, the last of my Father's siblings to pass away.  After the service, I was visiting with my Uncle Don, my Mother's younger brother about the burial plots in the Reliance Cemetery.  Don is the person in charge of the Protestant side (even though Don's Catholic) of the Reliance Cemetery and I asked him to look and see what was available for plots over near where my parents and grandparents plots are located.  I told him that I was going to be back in mid-August and that I'd see what he had figured out for me then.  All of this serves as a reminder that no matter what age we are at, we need to tell our loved ones what we wish for them to do in the case of our sudden passing.  Certainly, having worked out where you wish for your earthly remains to be located is among the things you need to address.

Well with that rather maudlin commentary, I will close for this month.

God's Love, Blessings and Grace to you all.
Pastor Roy

Sermon Video and another Funeral

This last weekend found us conducting the second funeral that we've had to do since I came here as the Pastor for Woodlawn Christian Church.  This time it was for a member who wasn't much more than a year older than I am myself.  Anytime one comes up against deaths for an individual close to your own age it gets ones attention.  Not a one of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so hug your family and tell them you love them today and each and every day. 

I've attached the video of my sermon from this past Sunday's service along with a manuscript of the funeral for Steven Main that I performed on Saturday morning.

REMEMBER to...

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Constant Care & Grace,
Roy

Order of Service: Funeral for Steven Robert 'Wiley' Main - July 25, 2015 - Service conducted at Lampe's Funeral Home:

Call to Worship:

Gathered in Christ's name, let us praise God
who is our certain hope in all life's varied circumstances.
In the face of death believe the good news the scriptures proclaim:
As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.
(Isaiah 66:13)

Greeting:
We have come together within the strengthening fellowship of friends and family:
to praise God for the life of Steven Robert 'Wiley' Main;
to share our grief with God and with one another;
to reaffirm our faith in God's unfailing goodness;
to hear again God's promise of resurrection;
and to commend Steven to God's everlasting care.

Music:  Tim McGraw “It's Your Love”

Opening Prayer:
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother Steven.
We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends,
to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage.
In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.
Give us faith to see death the gate of eternal life,
so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth,
until by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Music: Holly Dunn “Daddy's Hands”

Music: Brad Paisley “He Didn't Have To Be”

The Gospel Reading:
Hear these words from Jesus:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If it were not so,
Would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
So that where I am, there you may be also.
And you know the way to the place where I am going.
I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
But you will see me;
Because I live, you also will live.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you everything,
And remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”  
(John 14:1 – 4, 18 – 19, 25 – 27)

Special Music:  Brad Addison “Amazing Grace”

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church

On July 19, 2015 Steven Robert “Wiley” Main passed away at the all too young age of 57.  Steve was born on March 17, 1958 right here in Lake City, his was a life taken far, far too early but he left behind for all of his loved ones, a life that they will always remember.  

Though I never had the privilege of meeting Steve or 'Wiley' as most of his friends called him, his family told me a great deal about him.

They told me about how he was a very creative soul, that he enjoyed working with wood and had recently constructed a planter shaped like a turtle out of landscaping timbers, at the time of his passing he left unfinished an American Flag that he was fashioning out of recycled pallets.  He was a hard working and big hearted man who apparently never met a stranger and who was always ready to help, even to help a stranger in need.  His family was very precious to him and he loved his children and step-children.  Rachel told me that she and he did everything together, that they were always together doing something.  Steve was always doing something, he didn't care to sit idle and he didn't care to sit and watch television, rather he wanted to be doing something.

He was a very social person and he loved people.  Steve also very much loved to dance much to his family's amusement.  He and his family enjoyed camping, hunting or fishing, or just being outdoors in God's creation.  In listening to his family it was also obvious that he was a man that loved animals, especially his dog “Carly Ann” who he took along with him as much as he could.

Steve's nickname “Wiley” came from his 7th grade friends.  They had heard the ads for the Iowa Congressman Wiley Mayne who represented Iowa in the House of Representatives from 1967 to 1975, and since they had the same last name his friends started calling Steve “Wiley”, the name stuck and he was known as “Wiley” from then on.

Steve and his wife Rachel loved the “King”, a/k/a Elvis Presley, and together they enjoyed his music and collected various memorabilia.  In fact we will enjoy one of Steve's favorite Elvis songs at the close of this ceremony.  Although Elvis was frequently called and widely known as the King, when he himself was questioned about the nickname, he always let it be known that there was in fact only one true King.  Our God, our Lord, our Father in Heaven.

Psalm 23  King James Version (KJV)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Though Steve has been taken from his family and friends far too early, we know that he is safe in his Father's house in Heaven.  Though the parting is far too early in this world it is but a moment in Heaven.  In our Lord's Kingdom a day is like a 1,000 years and a 1,000 years are like a day.  Though we can count the years that we are parted here, it will seem like no time at all in Heaven where Steven and all of his family will enjoy eternity together with our all gracious and all loving God.

Though we are parted but for a time, we can take solace in the words of Apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 13:1-8
1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never ends.
Even though we are apart, as long as we have their memories, as long as these memories continue to influence our lives, our relationship with our loved ones that have passed remains.  And when that time comes that we are reunited in God's presence our joy will be complete.  In the knowledge that this separation is only temporary and with the love and comfort of our Lord along with the love and support of our family and friends, we can endure this brief separation.  For love remains, it never dies, it is there still with us.  For as Paul said;

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends, love always remains.

Steve's family loved him and he obviously loved his family very, very much.

At this point in the ceremony, the family would like to make time available for any of Steve's friends or family members that would like to come forward and share with all of us their memories.

Eulogies and Reflections:

Closing Prayer:
Our closing prayer here today will also serve as grace for the luncheon that will follow this service.  The family invites you to join them at the fellowship hall in Woodlawn Christian Church immediately following the service.  Let us pray:

O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given, but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.
We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.
With confidence we now entrust Steven to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own.  Accept him as he is with all his frailties as well as his strengths.  Enfold him in your everlasting arms.  Embrace him as your child.
Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.
Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Sending Song:  Elvis Presley  “Hound dog”