The Wake of Edith Chan
May 21, 2004, 7:00 PM, Halsted
Call to Worship
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17)
My name is Don Ng, the pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco. On behalf of Phillip Chan, Phyllis Chan and Candi Yee and their families, I welcome you here tonight to this service of remembering and celebrating the life of Edith Chan who returned to the Lord on May 18, 2004. Our prayer is that your presence here will honor the life of a wonderful woman who unselfishly gave generously to her family and friends and in so doing, you would be blessed with generosity and blessings as well.
Let us pray. With humble adoration we come before you, our Creator and Redeemer. We praise you for your creation, for the wondrous gift of life. We give thanks for your adoption of us as children of yours, thanks to your divine Son, who loved little children so much. Increase in us, we pray, a childlike spirit of truthfulness, wonder and trust so that nothing—not suffering, not sorrow, not even death—may shake our faith in you and our love for you. We pray in the name of your child and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Psalm 23
Romans 8:35, 37-39
Biography of Edith Chan
Solo—Wallace Choy
Sharing
Edith Chan—Getting Down with the Children
When we grow up, most of us forget about how it was when we were children. Children have few or no rights at all. We say that “they should be seen and not heard.” They stand very short that sometimes we find ourselves tripping over them. And as grown-ups, we get to enjoy all of the benefits and privileges of what the world has to offer that we rather not be seen as children. When we put away our childlike spirit, we sometimes forget how important children are in our lives.
Our friend, Edith Chan knew how special children are that her three children gave her 10 grandchildren and her grandchildren in turn gave her 9 great grandchildren! She believed in each one of them. She knew how to get down with the kids. She became a basketball fan when her granddaughters were successful in making three-pointers. One time, she clapped so much that she broke one of her jade bracelets.
While her children didn’t want to spoil Edith’s grandchildren, she did. She would take them on shopping sprees and buy them what they wanted. When they were happy, she was happy too. One time, Lindsay was looking for collector’s basketball cards so they went looking for them by riding the Muni busses all over the city. Nothing would make Edith happier than to see her grandchildren and great grandchildren happy. She was proud of them all and brag to her friends about how greatly she was blessed.
When Jesus was teaching with his disciples, people came to listen to him and brought their little children along. The parents wanted Jesus to lay his hands on them and pray for their little children. But the disciples thought that the children were not important to take any of Jesus’ time. In fact, the disciples sternly scolded the parents. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” (Mt. 19:14) Jesus took time to bless the children and made them special in the eyes of everyone.
Edith Chan’s love for her family and especially for the little ones that she did what Jesus did. She got down to where the children are and related to them as a “cool grandma.” She got a thrill when she knew how to use their vocabulary. She dressed so fashionably in purple PUMAS that other kids would tell their mothers that those are the kinds of shoes they wanted.
While Edith Chan was always meticulous in every way both in dress and in style, she didn’t need to act her age either. She didn’t demand to have it her way only even when she was the matriarch of the family. She was willing to accommodate and adapt to new situations so that the good of the family or the wishes of others were always more important than her own. This is a lesson that we can all learn.
As human beings and especially when we are adults, we have this need to find out who is the best, the strongest, the fastest, the riches, the greatest and on and on. Jesus’ disciples had this need to know too. They asked him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a child and placed him in front of his disciples. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Mt. 18:1-5)
Edith Chan not only welcomed all her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren but also many others, her nephews, Ray and Roger Tom, and all of her children’s friends to feel welcome and made everyone of them special. Edith Chan humbled herself to become like a child, to get down with the kids, and in so doing is recognized by God as the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Let us pray. God of our life, we come before you with praise in our hearts, because you are our comfort in sorrow and our peace in dying. Thank you for the family relationships that we have and especially we give thanks for the life of Edith Chan whose life united many generations together.
We give thanks for Edith Chan’s well-remembered devotion to her family; for her gift of listening that encouraged her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to seek her counsel long after they had become adults; for untold hours spent on giving wisdom in both her words and deeds. We have been blessed because of your blessings that you have given to Edith Chan. With gratitude for our lives being touched by grace, we pray. Amen.
Announcements
We thank you for your presence here tonight. If you would like to make a gift in memory of Edith Chan, donations can be made to the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco and/or the Visiting Nurses and Hospice of San Francisco.
Tomorrow, there will be a Funeral Service at 12:30 here at Halsted followed by interment at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Colma. You are invited to attend tomorrow’s service as well.
Benediction
Remember, beloved brothers and sisters: God has promised to bless us and keep us in this life and in our new life with the Lord.
The same God whose face now shines on our friend, Edith Chan, has promised, through our Lord, to forgive us and to shelter us throughout eternity.
I charge you to find your comfort and peace in these gracious promises of a loving God.
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.
The Funeral of Edith Chan
May 22, 2004, 12:30, Halsted
Call to Worship
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
Wait for the Lord;
Be strong, and let your heart take courage;
Wait for the Lord! (Ps. 27:1,14)
My name is Don Ng, the pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco. On behalf of Phillip Chan, Phyllis Chan and Candi Yee and their families, I welcome you here today to this service of remembering and celebrating the life of Edith Chan who returned to the Lord on May 18, 2004. Our prayer is that your presence here will honor the life of a wonderful woman who unselfishly gave generously to her family and friends and in so doing, you would be blessed with generosity and blessings as well.
Let us pray. Most patient God, we humbly pray for you to make your presence felt among us and within us. We need courage to control our fears for they are many. We may be afraid of failure as well as success. We may be afraid to love and to be unloved. We may be afraid of life and what the meaning of the end of life is. Help us during this time of worship to build up fresh resources of faith and assurance. Let the spirit of Edith Chan, who is beyond fear, safely at home with you, inspire us to live more bravely, trusting in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and in his victory over fear, sin, and death. We pray in Christ’s powerful name. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Isaiah 40:28-31
John 14:1-7
Biography of Edith Chan
Solo—Wallace Choy
Sharing
Edith Chan—We Are Here for Life
The writer, Annie Dillard once asked the question, “Why are we here?” She wrote, “We are here to witness the creation and to abet it. We are here to notice each thing so each thing gets noticed. Together we notice not only each mountain shadow and each stone on the beach but, especially, we notice the beautiful faces and complex natures of each other. We are here to bring to consciousness the beauty and power that are around us and to praise the people who are here with us. We witness our generation and our times. We watch the weather. Otherwise, creation would be playing to an empty house.”
Edith Chan knew the answer to the question, “Why are we here?” by the way she lived her life. The answer is not found in books or in the number of degrees we get. She lived her life actively engaged and involved in all aspects of life and became a positive presence in her large and growing family. She noticed all your beautiful faces and the complex natures of each person.
Edith Chan was usually at center of the party. She opened up the back of their cleaners for parties and family reunions. She and her husband, the late Albert Chan dedicated their lives to their family by going out to eat often and taking family excursions together. Edith’s magnetic personality and affirming smile made her so fun to be with that she was always invited to the parties that her children were giving. She was there to witness what all the gala excitement was all about and to not miss out of anything. Edith was such a great person at a party, that her grandchildren would often conspire to “kidnap Grandma” to stay with them.
Edith also knew that the answer to the question of why we are here is to let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. In Christ, we live life. When Dr. James Chuck came to visit Edith when she became sick, she was baptized by him. She was able to recite the Lord’s Prayer just like the way that the disciples were taught by Jesus himself. And when Wallace Choy came to visit, she asked him to sing her a song and he sang the Lord’s Prayer. Truly by the grace and love that Edith lived her life, she was always demonstrating how God’s peace was ruling in her heart and that life is worth noticing.
When the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians, he was teaching them that now that they have Christ in their hearts, how are they to live life. Paul said, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so that you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.” (Col. 3:12-15) In the few times that I had the opportunity to be with Edith, she was truly clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. She beamed with God’s peace that was a blessing to many. Everyone loved Aunt Edith.
She lived a compassionate life when she volunteered to come to the help of others with disabilities. She was kind and welcoming of everyone without any discrimination. Her humility enabled her family to pursue their dreams and goals unabated. She was patient and open to new situations throughout her many years of life knowing that new times require new ways. Edith Chan knew what the meaning of life was—to have Christ’s peace in her heart and to notice life around her.
When it was discovered that the cancer had returned, she forgo any further treatment because she wanted to live her life by witnessing the beauty and grandeur around her. She wanted a quality of life that would enable her to be with her family, to show compassion and kindness to others, to continue to live her life as an example of grace and thanksgiving. Her life on earth was a life that was still worth living, a life that she didn’t want to miss a minute of it. Even at the end, Edith Chan was still teaching her family why we are here in this world.
For many years, Edith Chan has served as the reason for this family to be together. She loved family gatherings and reunions especially on Christmas Eve. In her life and in her death, she continues to gather your family together to remember, celebrate, and to affirm that life is worth noticing and living. Remember what Annie Dillard wrote?
We are here to notice each thing so each thing gets noticed. We are here to notice each person in this family so that each person gets noticed. And together, you will not only notice the mountain shadow or each stone on the beach, but you will notice the beautiful faces that this family has in each one of you. God noticed Edith Chan from the beginning of her life as well as at the end. God notices each one of us here and as long as we keep on noticing one another and keep on witnessing our generation in our times, God’s creation would not be playing to an empty house.
Let us pray. O God, let there be rebirth, here in this end time. Life has been good and long. We are sad, but we are not lost. We can be born from above as well as from below. Even those who think that we are too old, can be born again.
Thank you, O God that Edith Chan was with us so long. That she was well so long. That she was happy so long. That she was able to notice all the little things in your creation including each one of us. Surely Lord, just as you noticed Edith, we know that you notice us too. And now let the peace that passes all understanding be hers as we pray will also be promises for us. Thank you, O God in the name of Christ we pray. Amen.
Announcements
We thank you for your presence here today. If you would like to make a gift in memory of Edith Chan, donations can be made to the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco and/or the Visiting Nurses and Hospice of San Francisco.
Immediately following the Funeral Service, we will have an interment at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Colma. You are invited to the Memorial Meal at Louie’s Chinese Cuisine located at 646 Washington Street in Chinatown across from the Holiday Inn.
Benediction
May the God of the Lord Jesus Christ, who raised Jesus from the dead and forever conquered death in our world and in our lives, may that God so live in our hearts and in our minds that death no longer holds us in fear.
Let us leave this place now prepared to receive the kind of joy that transcends happiness, peace that heals and makes us whole, hope that sustains throughout eternity and love that makes us truly human. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Interment of Edith Chan
Woodlawn Memorial Park, Colma
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)
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but 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, Edith Chan; and we commit her body to this resting place: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Let us pray. God of grace and mercy, comfort and assure us with the knowledge that Edith Chan is with you, at peace in your eternal love and care. As we go forth from this grave, grant us faith in your goodness, faith in guiding wisdom and faith in your everlasting promise, through your Son, Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Benediction
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. Go in peace. Amen.