January 12, 2005

Celebration of Life for Teagyn Smith-Hendricks

Announcements
My name is Dick Dinges. I am a Chaplain in the United Church of Christ. I have been asked to officiate at this service of worship, and I have planned the service with the family.

Please silence cell phones at this time.

Later in the service persons will be invited to come forward to speak to Teagyn’s memory. I am telling you now so that you can gather your thoughts. When you come forward, please speak loudly and clearly into the microphone so that everyone can hear.

Memorial gifts in Teagyn’s name may be made to Martinez Foundation at www.MartinezFoundation.org. Information for giving can be found on the website.

Also you are invited to a gathering for family and friends after the service at 4112 Front Royal Road.

Call to Worship
Let us worship God and remember before Him his child, Teagyn Smith-Hendricks.

We have a poem that sums up Teagyn’s life and what she has meant to the family:

Heaven’s Very Special Child

A meeting was held far from earth
‘It’s time again for another birth’
said the angel to the Lord above
‘This special child will need much love.’

Her progress may seem very slow
Accomplishments she may not show
And she’ll require extra care
From the folk she meets way down there.

She may not run, or laugh, or play
Her thoughts might seem quite far away
In many ways she won’t adapt
And she’ll be known as handicapped.

So let’s be careful where she’s sent
We want her life to be content
Please Lord find the Mother who
Will be special for you.

She will not realize right away
The leading role she’s asked to play
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.

And soon she’ll know the privilege given
In caring for this gift from heaven
Her precious charge, so meek, so mild
Is “Heaven’s Very Special Child.’

Invocation
Let us pray. Our God and heavenly Father, we gather before you today with grief and sadness. We come to honor Teagyn’s memory. We come to share our loss with one another so that we will be strengthened. We come together in the face of death to find the affirmation of our faith and the hope we have in Christ for life beyond the grave. And we come to worship you, Creator and Sustainer of life.

We pray that you will comfort us and lead us to yourself. Help us to find in each other the love that will sustain us in our grief, in the Name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

The Twenty-Third Psalm
The 23rd Psalm is one of faith and hope and strength.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

God’s Promises in Scriptures
Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). Surely Teagyn is with our Lord Jesus, and in the care of her late Grandpa, Peter Smith.

God has given us other promises of life in the Scriptures. After his resurrection, Jesus spoke these words to the Apostle John: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore” (Rev. 1:17f).

Prior to his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25f). Teagyn was taught about Jesus, and she believed in him.

The way of life became known through the preaching of the gospel. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Corinth: “Now I would remind you, brothers, in what terms I preached to you the gospel . . . . For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (I Cor. 15:1-5).

The Apostle Paul taught not only that Christ was raised, but that we will be raised with Christ. This is what he wrote to the Christians in Thessalonika: “We would not have you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (I Thess. 4:13f).

Paul didn’t write that we should not grieve all all, but that we should not grieve as those who have no belief in life beyond the physical, and who have no hope for reunion.

Our Lord Jesus himself spoke to his disciples about the future life we will enjoy with him. He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Simply put, life does not end in the grave. Christ has opened the way of resurrection life, and Christ shares his victory with all of us.

Message
Dear Friends, death is the time to cherish and cling to our Christian faith. The Christian faith is that physical death is not the end of life. The Christian hope is that Christ, by his obedient life before God, rose from death to become the Lord of all. He is the Lord of those who are alive in physical bodies on this earthly plane, and those who have laid aside their physical bodies, and who continue to be alive in spirit. Jesus is our Lord. He continues to be Teagyn’s Lord. Teagyn has left us, but she has not left Jesus, and Jesus has not left her. Jesus has received her to be with himself, just as he promised. The Christian faith is that we are in Christ’s care always. Further, that faith is that just as Christ was raised in an immortal body, so too shall we be raised at his coming.

Then how should we think of Teagyn? She is not dead. Only her body is dead. She is gone, released from the pains of this life. She is with our Lord and with her late Grandpa in a better place. From accounts of those who have had near-death experiences, we expect that she is surrounded by unspeakable beauty and filled with love, peace, and joy. She is no longer limited by any disability, but is completely free.

Special Music
Part of the beauty that Teagyn experienced in this life was the music she loved, and here are some of her favorite songs.

Personal Remembrances
Now is the time for you to speak to Teagyn’s memory. Please come forward one at a time. We will wait until everyone is through. Then I will share thoughts that the family has shared with me.

Teagyn was a special child, and was also affectionately called Teags, Teagey-Weagey, and Pumpkin. She had a special relationship with her mother and with Auntie. Although she was disabled, she was able with their help to enjoy life like any other four-year-old. Nicola and Karen were her arms, her legs, and her voice, and they made Teagyn’s life as normal as possible.

She was a happy and contented child, and her life was full of many experiences. Teagyn loved being in the water, going to the park and to the zoo. She loved to bowl. From her wheelchair she participated in races with Jannae. Teagyn loved to bounce on the trampoline, and she loved to dance with Jannae and her daycare buddies. Jannae loved to comb Teagyn’s hair, and loved to snuggle along with Teagyn on Auntie’s lap.

Teagyn made five trans-Atlantic flights. She was a frequent flyer. She went to school, where she was well known for being stylish and up-to-date. She was a fashion plate. The teacher said that she was the best-dressed girl in school, and she had hair styles to match. Everyone was taken by her, her smile, her quiet ways. She radiated light. Her face glowed.

She gave so much, and asked for so little. She liked chocolate, and slurpies. She didn’t chew well, but if you put a piece of chocolate in her mouth she would show her delight. She laughed at silly things - the sound of a cash register, and the shake of a head full of hair. She was at her cutest when she woke up in the morning. Then she would stretch her arms and make the cutest yawn - the kind someone would make in anticipation of a long hard day of work ahead.

Teagyn will occupy a large place in our hearts for a long time to come. She was much loved and cared for. While her life was short, she leaves us with spiritual riches of an enlarged capacity for patience and unconditional love. We might wonder about the purpose of Teagyn’s life, but she helped others love more fully, and that is the greatest purpose of all. We have been blessed by one of Heaven’s Very Special Children.

If we could hear Teagyn speak to us today we would likely hear her say, “Thank you for the love you gave to me,” and “I will love you forever.”

Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray. Our Father, we turn to you for your help and comfort. Teagyn has left us, and we miss her. Comfort us in our loss, and confirm our hope that we will see her again. In the meantime, we entrust her to your care, and to the loving arms of her Grandpa, Peter Smith.

We ask your special comfort upon those who were closest to her - Nicola, Karen, Grandma and Pop Pop, Lesley, Mark; her cousin and best friend, Jannae, and many extended family members and friends. Give them safe passage through their grief by the embrace and inner strength of your Spirit. In your mercy, bring renewal to all of us. Meet our needs and let us be renewed in your praise, for we belong to you, O God, both in life and in death, now and forever. Amen.

And now let us pray together as Jesus taught his disciples, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”

There is a poem that reflects our belief that the soul lives on after it departs the body. I read it now:

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.
(Author unknown)

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we commit into your care the spirit of Teagyn Smith-Hendricks, and we thank you that we had her as long as we did. Amen.

Benediction
May you be filled with the peace of God, which passes all comprehension. May you know the love of God our Father and of Christ our risen Savior, and may God keep you safe until that day when we will be raised and reunited in everlasting life. Amen.