The Funeral of Goot Ho Lee Chin
December 28, 2004
11:00 AM at Ashley & McMullen
Call to Worship & Welcome
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… (2 Cor. 5:17-18, 20)
On behalf of the family of Mrs Goot Ho Lee Chin, I welcome you here today to remember and celebrate the life of Mrs. Chin. Mr. Hoy Hong Chin and his children, Koren, Fawn, Amay, and Sampson along with their families, thank you for taking this time during this holiday season to be here to support them and grieve with them.
My name is the Rev. Donald Ng, the pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco where Mrs. Chin’s children attended church. We hope and pray that by your caring presence here that this occasion brings you comfort and the prosperity of the coming New Year.
Opening Prayer
Creator and Redeemer God, at this time of deeply felt loss, we turn to you for comfort in knowing that Mrs. Goot Ho Lee Chin is now with you in peace. We glorify you for creating the universe out of nothing and each one of us in your image. We acknowledge 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 to teach us how to be reconciled with each other as well as with everyone in the world. To Christ, with you, Creator God and with the Holy Spirit, be all glory and praise. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Psalm 23
Romans 8:31-35, 37-39
Biography
Sharing Words of Remembrance
Message—Loving Mother
For many of you here today, you have had the privilege of knowing Mrs. Goot Ho Lee Chin in life. For that, you have been wonderfully blessed. As pastor to Koren and in the past having known Amay, I only know Mrs. Chin through the lives of her children. My father used to remind me that whenever I went out in public that I must behave well because I represented him. My actions reflect whether my father and mother have been good parents. By knowing her children, I must say that I have a sense of how loving Mrs. Chin must have been.
The Bible tells us, “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8) Mrs. Chin understood the meaning of life. She knew and practiced the importance of love. She may not have attended church all her life, but she knew God through love—through the concern and help and kindness she offered her family and other people. Koren said that her mother was a “Christian in heart.” When she offered love to others, she then received love and goodness from others in return. In the end, this is not a bad way to know God, for as the Bible tells us, “God is love.” We can give thanks that the God who created her and put her in this world to live in love, has now received her into his eternal kingdom.
The life that Mrs. Chin lived is similar to many Chinese women who came to America from Toishan in the late 1940s to start a family on Gold Mountain. To leave one’s family and to venture out into unfamiliar lands required bravery and courage. Throughout these challenging beginnings, Mrs. Chin remained a devoted wife and loving mother for her children. She worked hard as a seamstress and homemaker. She provided food on the table and probably made her children’s clothing. She was known to be generous and welcomed her friends into her home.
The Bible has a book called, Proverbs. In Proverbs 31, we read about what makes a capable and loving wife and mother. Proverbs say that a Godly woman is one whose husband trusts her in his heart and that he lacks nothing that he needs. She would rise early while it is still night to provide food for her household. She would even make her arms strong so that she can carry out her chores. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
This woman who is revered in the Bible was also a seamstress like Mrs. Chin. Listen to this:
She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes.
Strength and dignity are her clothing.
Because of Mrs. Chin’s love for her family and friends, they also love her. Just like this woman in the Bible, it says,
“Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her.
Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”
In the way Mrs. Chin lived her life, we can hope and pray that we may live our lives as well that is filled with generosity and love.
I like the fact that her children reminded us about how much Mrs. Chin enjoyed traveling to Los Angeles to visit Disneyland. They say that it’s the “happiest place on earth.” The child in us remains with us whether we are a teenager or a senior person. This innocence that produces excitement that we get from riding on a roller coaster or shaking hands with Mickey Mouse shows us that life is pregnant with opportunities for us to enjoy life while we can and more importantly, to enjoy and appreciate one another when we can. We can grow to love and appreciate each other and discover that each person has something special and wonderful to offer. Mrs. Chin unselfishly gave love to her children and friends teaching them that they can also give and receive love for the rest of their lives. This would be a wonderful legacy that Mrs. Chin leaves for us to continue. Again from this Godly woman from Proverbs,
“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and teaching of kindness is
on her tongue.”
We have gather today to celebrate the goodness and love of Mrs. Chin; to give thanks for her love and spirit; to forgive her for her sins and shortcomings; to say goodbye and to remember. But at the same time, we celebrate the even greater goodness of our Lord God, and thank him for his love, seen so clearly in Jesus Christ; for the Holy Spirit, which gives us strength and hope; for his gift of forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life.
The meaning of life is love, a meaning we can make our own as we remember Mrs. Goot Ho Lee Chin, and as we serve our loving Lord to the best of our abilities here on earth.
Let us pray.
We thank you, God, that the meaning of life is love. We praise you for being at the heart of this great truth, and for giving all who love have a chance to know you. Your child, Mrs. Chin knew and practiced the importance of love, and we are thankful that she came to know you through her loving actions, her devotion to her family and friends, and her care for all those who received hospitality from her.
Grant us now your peace as we mourn her death, as we celebrate her love and spirit. As grateful as we are for her goodness, we are even more thankful for yours, O God. You are the one who gives life meaning and who offers us the gift of everlasting life. We thank you that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is in his name that we pray. Amen.
Announcements
Immediately after you have come forward to give your last respect and to greet the family, we will proceed to the Golden Hill Memorial Park for the interment service. There will be a Memorial Meal at the Grand Palace restaurant in South San Francisco to begin approximately at 1:30. You are all cordially invited to attend and to fellowship with Mrs. Chin’s family.
Benediction
I challenge you now, beloved in the Lord, to face bravely the journey which our friend, Mrs. Goot Ho Lee Chin has completed, having arrived safely in God’s kingdom.
Journey on, without the fear of falling, without any pretense about your true identity of a sinner in need of God’s saving grace.
Journey on, with tender memories of Mrs. Goot Ho Lee Chin and so many others who have gone before you, secure in the hope that, when our time comes, the love of God will be sufficient for you, thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power and authority, before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.
Committal Service
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, 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, Goot Ho Lee Chin; and we commit her body to this final 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. (Rev. 14:13)
Let us pray.
God, our Maker, you made our sister, Goot Ho Lee Chin, in your own image; you set her feet on our sojourner path; 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 Goot Ho Lee Chin in the communion of saints—forgiven, transformed, and fit for our new life with the Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
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.