MEMORIAL SERVICE
**To commemorate the passing into Spirit Life of one who is well-loved (and who has given faithful service).
HYMN
(Appropriate: "How bright these glorious spirits shine")
MINISTER
Dear friends, we are privileged to be here to commemorate the journey of our friend (and fellow worker) into the Spiritual World, and into those bright realms of peace and joy which God has prepared for those who love Him. We do not come here to bid him/her farewell but rather to express our love and understanding, and to congratulate him/her that he/she has now entered into a freer and fuller life, where he/she will be unimpeded by a physical body so prone to pain and weakness. We give thanks for the years of unselfish service, effort and courage, so evident to those who knew him/her; for the privilege of his/her companionship for so long; and we pray that we may benefit by his/her example, and follow the unselfish way taken by him/her with perfect faith in God. May I ask you, therefore, to do your utmost to put aside personal feelings of grief and loneliness, and to hold fast to the thought that this is not the time for mourning, but rather for thanksgiving for an earthly life well-lived.
**The Minister will then say:
