Prayer For Ashes Scattering
King of glory, we are gathered here as the family of our loved one who departed from this earth and came into your presence. Although it is painful and our hearts are heavy, we find comfort in you because his demise was within your will. Thank you for the beautiful memories we shared with our loved one. There is time for everything. Thank you for the different seasons we spent together with him. We praise you, Lord, for you have made everything beautiful in its own time. Now is the time for us to say our final goodbyes. In Jesus' all-knowing name, we pray, Amen.
Dear God, thank you for our friend that has finished her race on this earth in faith. Thank you for receiving her into your presence. Lord, let your perpetual light shine upon our loved one so that she can have eternal rest with you. Let your light shine upon us every day and may your presence always be with us until the day we join her. In Jesus' loving name, we believe and pray, Amen.
Lord, we commend the soul of our dearly beloved into your hands. May he find mercy in your eyes so that he can share your glory with the other devoted saints who have gone before us. Forgive him where he went wrong while he was here on this earth. As we scatter his ashes, we commit his body to you and pray that he finds eternal rest for the glory of your holy name. Lord, forgive us where we have strayed during this grieving season. Fill us with thanksgiving for his well-lived and full life. In Jesus' name, we believe and pray, Amen.
Loving God, may we find joy in your presence this difficult season. We know that death for a believer is just a doorway that ushers us into your presence. Let this truth be imprinted in our hearts that we may be filled with joy. May the memory of our loved one be in our hearts forever. Lord, may our loved one be acceptable before you because of her faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.
O God, let the peace of Jesus fill our hearts and this place. As we commit this body to the earth where it came from, let your unconditional love fill our hearts and let the peace that surpasses all understanding be with us to uproot fear and bitterness. Remind us of your great promises about eternal life that we may be strengthened. In Jesus' name, we believe and pray, Amen.
In placing the ashes of ___________________ in this hollowed ground, we think again of all that our dear son, brother/sister, companion and friend meant and means to us. We dedicate this simple plot, amid these natural surroundings, to every beautiful and precious memory . We lay these ashes in that gentle earth, which has been the chief support of humankind, since first they walked beneath the sun. To all human beings, to all living forms, the soil has ever provided the sustenance that is the staff of life. To that good earth we now commit the ashes of our friend.
Now the work is left to us, the living, to carry forth the beauty and joy of that life which has been taken from us. Where we weep, Hamish would have us laugh. Where we mourn, Hamish would have us rejoice. But we know that he will forgive us our grief, for to grieve is to love, to love is to cherish, and to cherish is to give praise and thanksgiving for the life which has blessed us all.
To that life we pray courage and strength, that our frailty be forgiven, our sorrows redeemed, the wounds of our loss healed, in the sure knowledge that life moves forward and does not tarry with yesterday, and that the life before us beckons to greater glory as the only memorial that is fitting and just. Let us depart in peace and look to the morning, assured that tomorrow the sun will rise again. Life gives and life takes away: Blessed be life, above all, forever.
May the truth that makes us free, the hope that never dies and the love that casts out fear lead us forward together until the dayspring breaks, and the shadows flee away. Amen.
Eternal spirit, Loving God our Father, before whom generations rise and pass away, we find that even in the face of death, our words can be those of thanksgiving.
We are thankful for one who shared her life with us. One for whom love and family were so important. One whose life was lived with vigor.
For the struggles of life and for the triumph of character over trial, of courage over difficulty, of faith over sorrow, we give thanks.
God grant us such strength in the memory of Lizzie that we might be thankful for the gift of life that is given to each of us, and in our hearts, may the loss of Lizzie be balanced by thanksgiving for the life that was shared with us.
Amen.
God, we commend to You the spirit of Lizzie and commit her earthly remains to their final resting place - earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. May You bless her. May You keep her. And may Your countenance shine upon her and bring her everlasting peace. Amen.