st.andrew's episcopal church kelso

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Loving God

We know that grief is the price we pay for love.

As we have named our loved ones and lit candles in theirmemory, we are

reminded of a parent, or sibling, or child, or friend,husband, wife, lover, each one a cherished memory,

and we give thanks for their lives and for all they meant to us.

But, as the candles burn out, help us to take comfort from the memories that

remain, in the belief that our loved ones are indeed sheltered in your everlasting

arms.

We pray for the souls of all have gone to their eternal rest,but especially at this

time we pray for all the lives lost through war, and earnestly renew our prayers for

peace in the life of the world.

We pray for all who face death through violence or tragica ccident or natural

disasters or famine.

We pray for those for whom death is a release from pain and suffering,

for those ready for rest after a long life,

for babies born sleeping,

for young lives cut short,

for those driven to the despair of suicide,

for those who die alone with no one to mourn them,

and for anyone for whom today will be their last.

We pray for all who serve the dying, the health professionals, the clergy, the

undertakers, and we give thanks for their care and compassion.

And we pray for all who watch, and wait, worry and weep..

For ourselves, Loving God, we pray that we may honour the memory of our loved

ones by having the strength to carry on with our lives by the grace of our lord

Jesus Christ, a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief, who wept for his friend

Lazarus even as we weep for our loved ones.

So O Lord, support us all the day long of this troublous life, until the shadows

lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of

life is over, and our work is done. Then, Lord, in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging,

a holy rest, and peace at the last.
Amen

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St Andrew's Scottish Episcopal Church, Kelso