Friday, March 5, 1999
Gathering Words
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…So we are ambassadors for Christ…
We have come tonight to give thanksgiving for the life of our dearest sister in Christ, Helen Chan. Helen’s family has asked that this time be one of joy and celebration for the wonderful blessings that God has given to their grandmother, mother, wife, sister, and aunt, Helen Chan.
For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosover believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Thanksgiving for the Life of Helen Chan
When Helen was in the hospital, I visited Ed at their home in El Cerrito. If you haven’t been there recently, you are missing something! Besides some of the amazing inventions that Ed created, throughout their backyard are flowers, climbing ground coverings, and flowering trees. These are Helen’s work of faith.
When we plant a seed in the soil, there’s no way of telling what’s going inside or exactly how long the wait is going to be. We can’t dig up the seed to check and see if there’s growth. But we have faith that something is stirring in there. It’s truly a journey of trust in the transformative process. All kinds of inner stirrings are going on but we simply cannot see them taking place.
Our own lives are like seeds planted in trust that something is stirring inside. We must trust that the greening and the growing needed for our life’s journey is happening without our being able to always see it.
Throughout Helen’s life, she has planted many seeds. Some of these seeds were planted when she taught school to her students and her teaching colleagues. Many seeds were planted when she raised her daughters Susan, Barbara, and Beverly and provided nurture and care for her extended family and friends. And in her church home, she planted seeds of learning and fellowship and for the past year, seeds of a new church with a vibrant and thriving witness.
For each of us, we have been blessed by Helen’s life. What kinds of seeds are now greening and flowering in your life that we may give thanksgiving to God for his wonderful acts of grace and love.
Please stand where you might be and share a blessing that you see in your life because it was Helen’s life that has touched yours.
[Sharing time]
After each sharing, let’s respond by saying together, “Thanks be to God.”
Recently, I read a little book titled, Tuesdays with Morrie. It’s a diary of a young sports writer who discovered his old college professor, Morrie Scwartz was dying. In one of their many conversations, Morrie told a story of two waves. The little wave was scared when he saw other waves make their way to the shore. They were crashing against the reefs and eventually died. But the big wave said to the little wave, “Don’t be afraid, you won’t die, you are a part of something much bigger than you think. You are part of the ocean.”
Pastoral Prayer
Dear Father God, at this time as in all times, we thank you for the precious gift of life. You have given each of us the ability to share in each other’s burdens and to spread love in the world. We thank you for your child, Helen Chan who has blessed us with her love and care. Through her life, she has made our lives more meaningful and richer.
God of all glory and grace, who sent Jesus Christ to bring life and immortality to light, we give you thanks that by his death he destroyed the power of death. By his resurrection he gave assurance that because he lives we too shall live, and that neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, shall separate us from your love, which we have seen in Christ Jesus.
We pray for health and the well-being for living—bearing witness to our Christian faith in both word and deed. We pray for the security of home where we stretch out to renew our strength in rest and sleep and for dear ones who are committed to each other in love and interdependence.
O God, we pray for hope: the hope to pursue the next goal when one goal has been reached; hope for recovery and a fresh start when a goal has eluded us; and hope at the last, when all human hope seems lost, except for the one true hope that is everlasting. That hope is Jesus Christ is risen.
May our remembrance of Helen Chan live long among us and be to us a source of guidance and strength. We pray all of these things in the name of Christ Jesus who taught us to pray together…Our Father…
Expressions of Appreciation
On behalf of Helen’s family, we are deeply touched by your presence and sharing this evening. You have helped them give thanksgiving to our Almighty God that his steadfast love is with us always.
For you who may be unfamiliar with Chinese American funerals, when you leave tonight, you will be given some hard candy wrapped in white paper. The color white represents sorrow and the bitterness that are experienced when a loved one passes. But inside is candy to change bitterness to the sweet joy of life. You can discard the white paper. A red envelope with some money will also be given to you. This is a symbol of prosperity and new life. The red is for happiness and the money is a blessing of many good fortunes to come. God bless you all.
Helen Chan
Saturday, March 6, 1999
Gathering Words
The Psalmist said:
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God…
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
Today is a day of celebration and praise for the blessings of life and love. The life of Helen Chan has deeply touched all of us here. Our lives are more special because Helen lived and in her unselfish and giving way, she has taught us the meaning of having Jesus Christ in our hearts. To that, we are thankful and grateful.
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In God’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 now? 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. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” (John 14:1-3,27)
Pastoral Prayer
Dear merciful Father God, we come today with both sadness and joy in our hearts. Comfort us as we face the valley of the shadow of death. Lift our eyes from the dark depths to the hills from where help comes. Our help comes from you, O Lord, our refuge and strength.
We give praise and thanksgiving to you for the wonderful gifts and talents that your child, Helen Chan shared with all of us. Through her commitments to Christian service, so many more of your people have come to know the fellowship of our Christian community. Through her constant caring and warm hospitality, many of us have felt welcomed and a part of your love. Through her dedication to her family, Helen has brought loving relationships of kindness and mutuality to young and old alike.
Grant us courage to recommit ourselves to doing good for others. We can see all around us signs of neglect and poverty, signs of hopelessness and failure, signs of disappointments and grief. Empower us, O God, with the zeal for life and the faith in people that Helen had. Challenge us with the love of the Lord and our trust in your promise of eternal life to work hard in bringing reconciliation in the world.
We pray, dear God for all who have gathered in this place. Shower your love and blessings on all of us to have a newness in spirit. May we find support and encouragement from each other as we face our future with hope and purpose to do your will. Guide us in our paths as you have always done.
We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, but eternal in heaven. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, who taught us to pray together, Our Father…
Expressions of Appreciation
On behalf of Helen’s family, we are deeply touched by your presence and prayers today. You have helped them give thanksgiving to our Almighty God that his steadfast love is with us always.
For you who may be unfamiliar with Chinese American funerals, when you leave today, you will be given some hard candy wrapped in white paper. The color white represents sorrow and the bitterness that are experienced when a loved one passes. But inside is candy to change bitterness to the sweet joy of life. You can discard the white paper. A red envelope with some money will also be given to you. This is a symbol of prosperity and new life. The red is for happiness and the money is a blessing of many good fortunes to come. God bless you all.
Benediction
Beloved, in the midst of sadness, I charge you to rejoice.
Rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory 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)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that Christ has conquered death, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.