Funeral Planning

It was the first time she had ever visited St. Cross, but she felt the love right away. She had come to meet with me to plan a funeral service for her brother. She had heard him talk about St. Cross forever. How much he loved it here. How much this place was like a family to him. But, she says, “I didn’t get it until now. Wow. This place is full of love.”

She was impressed with the space, the beauty of our nave and chapel and sanctuary. She was impressed with the tenderness and care she received when she first reached out to notify us. And she was comforted by the organized and detailed programs. “Every step of the way,” she said, “you made things easy and you were thoughtful.”

As many of you may unfortunately know, the “business” of dying can be overwhelming and confusing, made especially burdensome because we are in the midst of great grief. Here at St. Cross, we believe good administration can be a form of pastoral care. We strive to shift funeral planning from a burden to a blessing.

I have the privilege of walking with the bereaved through this process. I get the benefit of a good system of support from our detail focus parish administrator Trudy, my fellow clergy who have developed our planning process and refined our liturgy and mentored me in it, our ushers and altar guild who make sure everything is sorted and every one is comfortable, our musicians who lend their expertise and artistry, all of it in the end is really a form of pastoral care. Each part of the process is infused with love and care. And that includes each of you, who give to the church and support all of us in this work. It is quite a blessing. It is a blessing to be a part of their journey through these holy moments and to share them with you.

Thank you for your hard efforts and tender hearts as you support this ministry.

This is the gift each of you give even though you might not know it. So I thought I would take a moment to share it with you.

Is there a part of your church experience that you feel grateful for that you don’t get to share very often? Take a moment to say a prayer of thanks for that ministry. And perhaps give a phone call or send a note, saying thank you to the leaders of that ministry. It will be a beautiful way to end the summer and transition into a new season.

Blessings.

Josh