In Loving Memory

of

Susan Mary Willis

14th November 1944 ~ 7th March 2010

The funeral service conducted on

Saturday 13th March 2010at 11am

ORDER OF SERVICE

MUSIC IN MEMORY OF SUSANElvis ~ The Old Rugged Cross

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WELCOME

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OPENING PRAYER

The death of someone we love and care about, is like the death of part of us.No one else will ever call out from within us quite the same responses, the same feelings or actions or ideas. Their death is an ending of one part of a story. Lord as we look back over Susan's life . We ask what we have received,what we can appropriate, and continue on in our own lives and what must be laid to rest. Our love for her reminds us that our sharing in one another's lives brings both support and pain. Our being parted from her reminds us of our own mortality ......And that your love is enduring.

We thank you that our love for Susan draws us together and gives us a new appreciation of one another, and of the beauty and fragility of relationships, which mirror your grace and goodness to us.

Lord, time's tide may wash her footprints from the shore, but not our love for her nor the influence of her life upon our own. Nor the ways in which they will ever be a sign for us, of those things which really matter - which are eternal. Hear this prayer for your love's sake. Amen.

POEMLife is a River

Life is a riverGo with it's current and you may be buffeted on its rocks,

dragged down into it's whirlpool, and have to brave it's rapids,

but at the end of the journey you will know all life has to offer.

Cling to it's banks and you will be forever safe,but you will never cry with all your tears,and never laugh with all your laughter.

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READING FROM SCRIPTUREPsalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters

He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

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.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

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.

HYMNBe Thou My Vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;

be thou my best thought in the day and the night,both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,be thou ever with me, and I with thee Lord;be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;be thou my whole armor, be thou my true might;

be thou my soul's shelter, be thou my strong tower:O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:be thou mine inheritance now and always;

be thou and thou only the first in my heart;O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, thou heaven's bright sun,O grant me its joys after victory is won;

great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.

POEM

Canon Henry Scott-Holland, 1847-1918, Canon of St Paul's Cathedral

Death is nothing at allI have only slipped away into the next room

I am I and you are youWhatever we were to each other

That we are stillCall me by my old familiar name

Speak to me in the easy way you always usedPut no difference into your tone

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrowLaugh as we always laughed

At the little jokes we always enjoyed togetherPlay, smile, think of me, pray for me

Let my name be ever the household word that it always wasLet it be spoken without effort

Without the ghost of a shadow in itLife means all that it ever meant

It is the same as it ever wasThere is absolute unbroken continuity

What is death but a negligible accident?Why should I be out of mindBecause I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you for an intervalSomewhere very near

Just around the cornerAll is well.

Nothing is past; nothing is lostOne brief moment and all will be as it was before

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

A Personal Tribute In Memory of Susan Willis

A Personal Tribute In Memory of Susan Willis

HYMN

Morning Has Broken

Morning has broken, Like the first morning,

Blackbird has spoken, Like the first bird;

Praise for the singing, Praise for the morning,

Praise for them springing, Fresh from the Word.

Sweet the rain's new fall, Sunlit from heaven,

Like the first dewfall, On the first grass;

Praise for the sweetness, Of the wet garden,

Sprung in completeness, Where his feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight, Mine is the morning,

Born of the one light, Eden saw play;

Praise with elation, Praise every morning,

God's re-creation of the new day.

Morning has broken like the first morning,

Blackbird has spoken like the first bird;

Praise for the singing, Praise for the morning,

Praise for them springing fresh from the Word.

POEMYou can shed tears that she is gone

You can shed tears that she is goneOr you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come backOr you can open your eyes and see all that she’s left.Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her

Or you can be full of the love you shared.You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterdayOr you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s goneOr you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your backOr you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

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READING FROM SCRIPTUREEcclesiastes 3 Vs 1-8

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a

time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time

to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to

weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to

scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to

refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to

throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to

speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

THE LORDS PRAYER

All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name;thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

COMMENDATION

Let us commend Susan to the mercy of God, Our maker and redeemer. God our

creator and redeemer, by your power Christ conquered death and entered into

glory. Confident of his victory and claiming his promises, we entrust Susan to

your mercy in the name of Jesus our Lord, who died and is alive and reigns with

you, now and forever.

Amen.

COMMITTAL

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great goodness.

As a father is tender towards his children, so is the Lord tender to those that fear

him. For he knows of what we are made; he remembers that we are but dust. Our

days are like the grass; we flourish like a flower of the field; when the wind goes

over it, it is gone and its place will know it no more. But the merciful goodness

of the Lord endures for ever and ever towards those that fear him. and his

righteousness upon their children's children.

We have entrusted our sister Susan to God’s mercy, and we now, commit her body to be cremated: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust: in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our frail bodies that they may be conformed to his glorious body, who died, was buried, and rose again for us. To him be glory for ever.

Amen.

THE BLESSING

May God give you his comfort and his peace, his light and his joy, in this world and the next; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

EXIT MUSICJohn Denver ~ Annie’s Song

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Donations In Memory of Susanmay be given for MABS

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The family would like to invite you backto their home following the service

Service Sheets Designed & Printedby

The English Funeral Director, Tony Smith. Tel: 650 631 719www,EnglishFuneralDirector.com