January 28, 2023. Woodlawn Cemetery Chapel, 10:00 AM
Greetings & Opening Prayer
Call to Worship
Greetings to you. I am Don Ng, retired pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco where Lillian Leong and her family attended. Personally, I have been richly blessed to have had Lillian Leong in our congregation. For the 17 years when I was pastoring, one of the very first persons I would see on Sunday morning is Lillian. She has arrived for breakfast upstairs and to come to worship the Lord, sometimes attending both the Cantonese-speaking and English services.
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All of this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…so today we are ambassadors for Christ… (2 Cor. 5:17-18, 20)
On behalf of Ronald Leong, Pam Leong and their family, I welcome you here today to remember and celebrate the faithful discipleship of our friend, Lillian Leong who was born on April 18, 1935 and returned home on January 14, 2023.
Lillian was a member of the Emmanuel Family Group with their advisor, Miss Astrid Peterson. Astrid Peterson welcomed new Americans who initially came from China and Hong Kong to know that wherever life may take them that God is with them. For Lillian, she came from Thailand. Emmanuel means “God with us” is the promise that in Jesus Christ, God is always near and never ever would forget or abandon us. Lillian knew this and always trusted God in Christ to be by her side.
Invocation
Let us pray. Creator and Redeemer God, at this time of deeply felt loss, we turn to you for comfort. We glorify you for creating the universe out of nothing and each one of us in your image. We acknowledge your sovereign wisdom in setting limits to our life on earth and for setting before us, through Jesus, our crucified and risen Savior, a limitless life. Being reconciled to you through him, we praise Christ as the divine leader in that ministry of reconciliation in which he expects us to serve as his ambassadors. Today, we see the faithful life of Lillian Leong as an example of being one of your ambassadors of reconciliation. To Jesus Christ, with you, dear God and the Holy Spirit, be all glory and praise. Amen.
Bridge Over Waters
Last week, my wife and I attended the Simon and Garfunkel Story concert at the Golden Gate Theatre. Two talented musicians sang Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s songs as they reviewed this famous Grammy-winning musical team’s history across many years. After they sang their last song, I whispered to my wife, “How about ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters?’” And when the applause called for an encore, they came out and sang one of their most well-known songs.
When I reflected on the life of Lillian Leong, she was like the bridge over troubled waters. As the third-born of eight, almost right in the middle, she was the bridge between the older and the younger of her siblings. We can be pretty sure that sibling rivalry existed and Lillian would have settled disputes to bring harmony back into the family. She learned English that served as a bridge from Asia to the US to find a job at the Southern Pacific Railroad and eventually be able to support her family when her husband, Richard passed early in life. When this sad day came, Lillian continued to be the bridge with her In-laws by caring for them, shopping groceries for them and to raise two children, Ronald and Pam so that there would be many more descendants.
Unlike the name says, the Pacific Ocean is not always calm and still. It’s a vast body of water that separates Asia from North America; China, Singapore and Thailand from the United States. As the result of Lillian’s bravery and confidence, she bridged the distant lands when she sponsored her siblings and her parents to begin new lives here. Lillian was able to bridge the east with the west and integrated both cultures and traditions into a happy home.
There’s an incident in Jesus’ ministry when he finished teaching and healing, he said to the disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” (Mark 5:35b) Jesus wanted to cross over the lake in a boat. When Jesus was asleep in the stern on a cushion, a great windstorm arose and waves beat against the boat causing water to swamp the boat. The disciples woke Jesus up to ask him if he even cared that they were about to perish. Jesus said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind stopped and it was calm. Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
When I was pastoring First Chinese Baptist in San Francisco, I mentioned that one of the first persons I would see on Sunday morning was Lillian Leong. She would wear her brown coat with the fur collar. She’d come up for coffee to catch up with friends and then go about her shopping for Chinese ingredients for the week. After she had completed her chores, she would attend the Sunday worship services.
Lillian was a consistently faithful church-goer. She was loyal, friendly, and faithful. Jesus would not have had to ask Lillian, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Lillian has not been afraid and she has always been faithful to believe that Jesus Christ is her Lord and Savior. Throughout her life, even through turbulent seasons of life, she has remained faithful and true to God.
Like Jesus who bridged relationships between the Jews and the Gentiles and in his love for creation when he bridged heaven and earth at Christmas and redeemed the world on Easter, Lillian bridged this family to love and care for each other.
I suspect that when Lillian’s parents were brave enough to escape from China to Singapore and then to Thailand to protect their family, Lillian and all of her siblings most likely learned from their parent’s actions. Now, their children’s generation, many of you here have learned from them and your own children are now learning from you.
You can hardly get around the Bay Area without crossing a bridge. I crossed a bridge today. With retrofitting and solid engineering in place, it’s usually safe to cross a Bay Area bridge. But when you are the bridge that people depend on to live and thrive, it requires risk-taking, perseverance, loyalty and faithfulness.
Lillian Leong was faithful in life and we now believe she is faithful in heaven. She left behind life examples of how to live well and long and in the end, bridges everyone together to be here today.
Simon and Garfunkel sang,
Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, if you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
I would venture to say that Jesus can be singing this too. Jesus is telling Lillian to sail on silver girl because her time has come to shine. And because Lillian has been a bridge for you in her life, Jesus is now the bridge for her over troubled waters and into the calm waters of the heavenly home.
Let us pray
Gracious God, in remembering the faithful and fulfilled life of our friend and your servant, we give thanks. Lord, you breathed life into Lillian Leong and she walked on this earth always reflecting on your generosity and love for many others. While we may be saddened by her passing, we are also inspired by Lillian Leong’s life that is symbolized as a bridge bringing together cultures, generations, and time to become a loving and growing family in Christ Jesus. Comfort us today as we believe in the coming of a new day to remind us of your wondrous creation of life according to your plans for us. Thank you, O God, for the gift of your Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ who promises us eternal life. In his name, we pray. Amen.
Announcements/Thanks
Following the service, there will be a Committal Service here at Woodlawn and a Memorial Luncheon at Superior Palace Restaurant in the Richmond District. Detail information is listed in your bulletins.
The family has listed First Chinese Baptist Church, San Francisco that you might wish to give to in memory of Lillian Leong of which the Leong family is most grateful.
When you exit, you will be given two small envelopes. The white envelope contains a piece of candy to symbolize sweetness in a bittersweet situation. The red envelope contains a coin for you to buy something on your way home to suggest that you will continue to prosper and to have a healthy life. These tokens represent tokens of blessings for you.
Closing Prayer
Beloved, in the midst of sadness, I charge you to rejoice.
Rejoice in hope of sharing the glory of God!
Rejoice today believing that our loved one, Lillian Leong is now in the arms of God!
Rejoice even in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope!
Rejoice above all that this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit! (Romans 5:2-5)
Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Committal Service
Jesus said:
I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. (John 11:25-26)
Do not be afraid: I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead and see, I am alive forever and ever. (Rev. 1:17-18)
And from John, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, we commend to God’s merciful care our sister, Lillian Leong; and we commit her remains to this resting place: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
“Blessed are the dead who…die in the Lord…They will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.” (Revelations 14:13)
Let us pray.
God our Maker, you made our sister, Lillian Leong, in your own image; you set her feet on a sojourner adventure; you watched over her along the way. As you lovingly received and welcomed her to the ranks of the redeemed, we pray that you would continue to guide our sojourner steps so that, at the appointed time, we might join Lillian Leong in the communion of saints—forgiven, transformed, and fit for our new life with the Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Put items in the vault.
Benediction
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord makes his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lifts up his countenance upon you, and gives you peace. Amen. Go in peace.