A Prayer for Loved Ones Lost (and Found)

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A Prayer for Loved Ones Lost (and Found)

For the Season of Advent (Year C)

Below is a prayer for loved ones lost (and found) that I'm using at a Hospice service I've been asked to help lead in memory of those who died this past year.  

O God, our help in ages past,
we come to you as fragile human beings,
vulnerable to time and trials,
formed from the dust and to the dust to surely return.
And, yet, you call us your children,
you hold us in life; not even death can separates us from your love.
Through your sovereign steadfast providence,
you have snatched us from the jaws of death,
and proved that our redemption is your ultimate promise, one that will be fulfilled.
We remember this day those who we have lost in the past year,
those who are dear to our hearts,
family, friends, community members, parents, children, spouses, brothers, and sisters.
We confess that though they are presently lost to us, they are nevertheless found by you,
though we may long to hold them in our arms, they are firmly within your eternal embrace,
for death has led them to eternal life,
just as a cross leads to an empty tomb.
Hear us, we pray, as we mourn for those who touched our lives
and shared with us their love and companionship.
We thank you for their time with us,
their ministry among us,
and for the memories of them that we treasure within us.
Together, we lean toward the day that has been promised to us,
when death and dying will be no more,
when you will wipe the tears from every eye,
and we will be reunited with our loved ones whom we remember today.
Hear us, as we pray in your holy and good name.  Amen.
 

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.