April 26, 2011, 11:00 AM
Woodlawn Memorial Park
Call to Worship
God is gracious. He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. Jesus said: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Psalm 147: 1c, 3, 5; Matthew 11:28, 29; 5:4, 8.)
Let us pray.
O God, your care for is like that of a father who has compassion for his children and a mother, who comforts her children with kindness, humor, and devotion. We cast our heavy burdens of grief on you. Be gracious with us in our anguish. Grant us the comfort of your rest. Assure us with the confidence that your faithful servant, Helen Doung has been received into the arms of your mercy, in the blessed rest of your eternal care. May our lives hereafter bear witness to the hope that is ours in the crucified and risen Christ on Easter, who defeated death for our sake and now reigns victorious in your glory. Through his name we pray. Amen.
Sharing
1. Sons & Family
2. Friends
Giving of Roses
Scripture: John 1:1-13
Message—Power to Be God’s Child
Helen Doung, a child of God, has gone home to her Father in heaven. In John’s Gospel, we see that we are born as creatures of God, but we become God’s children. Jesus, the Christ, as the Word of God gives us “power to become children of God” to all who receive him and believe in him. Helen was a disciple of Jesus who demonstrated God’s love for her when she shared her loving care for her family all her life. She was a dedicated home-maker, someone who in her generation believed that managing and running a happy home would produce a happy family. Helen was the chief chef preparing home cooking for her sons and family to enjoy. She embraced her children and grandchildren, great grandchildren, family and friends with the same kind of love that God embraced her.
John said, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” We do live in an age when we are crushed, overwhelmed, dwarfed by physical power—wars and conflicts, nuclear disasters, poverty, and unemployment to just name a few. God gives us spiritual power to overcome this darkness in our world. In Helen’s long life, she was a light that shined in the darkness and that darkness did not overcome her. She baked cakes to celebrate birthdays with candles. To bring the sunshine inside, she planted flowers to grace her table. She was a beautician and a barber who made her children dazzling handsome and beautiful. And she loved to eat sweets and in so doing, she, of course, shared her passion with everyone. There is no better way to brighten up our world in darkness but to have sweets and desserts!
The Lord gives us power to become. When Byron shared with me all the many things and hobbies his mother was in, the only person I can think about is Benjamin Franklin who we often referred to as a renaissance person. Franklin was gifted in many things in his life—inventor, writer, ambassador, writer, the Post Master General. Helen Doung was a renaissance person, a person of the enlightenment. John said, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” As a creatively gifted child of God, she painted inspirational pictures and made hundreds of ceramics that revealed God’s majesty and love for the world. Christ, the true light enlightened Helen in this life so that she can light up the world with her creative gifts and talents.
One of the passages that Byron read to his mother at On Lok before she passed was Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
For you are with me;
Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
My whole life long.
Helen Doung lived a long, faithful and productive life and Jesus Christ, the good shepherd has watched over her through the darkest valley as well as blessed her by dwelling in the house of the Lord. We can see this because her cup has overflowed with blessings.
Helen Doung is leaving you with a valuable collection of artwork that reflects that she has become a child of God. She is leaving you with many generations of descendants who will carry on the values, beliefs, and traditions that she fondly taught you through her good deeds. She is leaving you to become an even stronger and more faithful family to continue the legacy that she created in her love for life and her obedience to God.
I firmly believe that Helen Doung was a child of God, that she received the gift from God and put the gift of her life to work faithfully over 95 years. Jesus said, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Helen gave her life to the Lord and sought after his plan for her life. And having lived that life in faithfulness, all of these wonderful things have been given to you and to her as she enjoys Paradise today.
Let us pray.
Creator God, at this time of all times, we thank you for the precious gift of life.
We thank you for health—and for the skill and compassion of those who care for us when our health falters and fails.
We thank you for home: for the roof over our heads and the bed where we stretch out to renew our strength in sleep; for the loved ones who make that roof and that bed and all the rest a true home.
And we thank you for hope: hope for the pursuit of the next goal when one goal has been reached; hope for recovery and a fresh start when a goal has eluded us; hope at the last, when all hope seems lost, except for the one shining hope set before us in your raising our Lord Jesus from death. Amen.
Close the Vault
Committal
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though hey die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).
“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 Helen Doung; and we commit her life to this final resting place: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Let us pray.
Merciful God, you created us in your own image, perhaps because you were lonely; you created us as members of families, so that none of us should ever be lonely; you shared our grief when the family circle is broken and we experience loneliness and sorrow, because someone whom we have loved and counted on has left us. Grant us strength to face our loss, with the assurance that Helen Doung’s return to you has not broken our family circle, but only extended it beyond this earthly place into the heavens that your children share with you, thanks to the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Benediction
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.