The Perfect Tree

 

Photo by Melisse Buland

 

 

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

They shall be like a tree planted by water,

sending out its roots by the stream.

It shall not fear when heat comes,

and its leaves shall stay green;

in the year of drought it is not anxious,

and it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8  (NRSV)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memorial Service            Melisse S. Buland

September 24, 1985 - December 01, 2006

 

PRELUDE MUSIC

                                                                  

OPENING BLESSING 

 

Welcome in the name of Jesus the Savior of the world. We are gathered to worship, to proclaim Christ crucified and risen, to remember before God our sister Melisse, to give thanks for her life, to commend her to our merciful redeemer, and to comfort one another in our grief.

 

Thanksgiving for Baptism

When we were baptized in Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6)

 

“I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry”

 

"I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.

I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold.

I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well;

in a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell."

 

"When you heard the wonder of the Word I was there to cheer you on;

you were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.

If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one,

I'll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk till rising sun."

 

"In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young,

I'll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I've begun.

When the evening gently closes in and you shut your weary eyes,

I'll be there as I have always been, with just one more surprise."

 

"I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.

I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold."

 

 P – Let us pray.  Eternal God, maker of heaven and earth, who formed us from the dust of the earth, who by your breath gave us life, we glorify you.  C - We glorify you.

 

P - Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life, who suffered death for all humanity, who rose from the grave to open the way to eternal life, we praise you.  C - We praise you.

 

P - Holy Spirit, author and giver of life, the comforter of all who sorrow, our sure confidence and everlasting hope, we worship you.  C - We worship you.

 

P - To you, O blessed Trinity, be glory and honor, forever and ever.  C – Amen.

 

Greeting

P - The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.   C - And also with you.

 

Prayer of the Day

P - Let us pray.  O God of grace and glory, we remember before you today our sister, Melisse. We thank you for giving her to us to know and to love as a companion in our pilgrimage on earth. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.   Give us faith to see that death has been swallowed up in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may live in confidence and hope until, by your call, we are gathered to our heavenly home in the company of all your saints; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  C - Amen.

 

SHARING BY FAMILY AND FRIENDS

 

Readings

 

First Reading                                                              Jeremiah 17:7-8

7Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.  8They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.

 

Psalm                                                                            Psalm 139:7-14

P - 7Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?

C - 8If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

P – 9If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 

C - 10even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.

P - 11If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night’,

C - 12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

P - 13For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

C- 14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

 

Gospel                                                                         Luke 24:1-6a

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,  but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!”

 

SERMON

 

 

HYMN

“THINE IS THE GLORY”

 

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son;

endless is the vict'ry thou o'er death hast won!

Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,

kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.

 

Refrain

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son;

endless is the vict'ry thou o'er death hast won!

 

Lo, Jesus meets thee, risen from the tomb!

Lovingly he greets thee, scatters fear and gloom;

let his church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,

for the Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting! Refrain

 

No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;

life is nought without thee; aid us in our strife;

make us more than conqu'rors, through thy deathless love;

bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above. Refrain

APOSTLES’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,          creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,        who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,         born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;         he descended into hell.

          On the third day he rose again;          he ascended into heaven,

          he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge

the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,          the holy catholic church, the communion of

saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the

life everlasting. Amen.

 

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

P – Let us pray.  Merciful God, you heal the broken heart and bind up the wounds of the afflicted. Strengthen us in our weakness, calm our troubled spirits, and dispel our doubts and fears. In Christ’s rising from the dead, you conquered death and open the gates to everlasting life.  Renew our trust in you that by the power of your love we shall one day be brought together again with our sister Melisse.  Grant, this, we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

C – Amen 

 

Prayers of intercession are prayed. To each petition the assembly responds:

P - God of mercy,    C - hear our prayer.

 

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

SHARING OF THE PEACE

P -  The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C – And also with you.

 

WE SHARE THE LORD’S SUPPER

P- The Lord be with you.                                    C - And also with you.       

P- Lift up your hearts.                                         C - We lift them to the Lord.

P- Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.       C - It is right to give our thanks

and praise. 

P-  It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise, O Lord, almighty and ever-living God. In Christ who rose from the dead our hope of resurrection dawned. The sting of death has been removed by the glorious promise of his risen life. And so with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:                

 

Holy, holy, holy Lord, Lord God of pow’r and might:  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest.

 

Eucharistic Prayer

P   Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal: Surrounded by evil and bordered by death we appeal to you, our sovereign, our wisdom, and our judge.    

     We praise you for Christ, victor over death, who proclaimed your reign of peace and promised an end to injustice and harm.
     In the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave

thanks; broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my

body given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
      Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:                            

     This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
     Remembering, therefore, the sacrifice of his life and death and the victory of his resurrection, we await with Melisse and all the saints his loving redemption of our suffering world.
     Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:

C   Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

 

P   Send your Spirit on these gifts of bread and wine and on all who share in the body and blood of your Son. Teach us your mercy and justice, and make all things new in Christ; through whom all glory and honor is yours almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy church, both now and forever.  C- Amen.

 

LORD’S PRAYER

      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; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen

 

DISTRIBUTION OF COMMUNION

     Holy Communion is open to all baptized Christians who believe that Christ is truly present with us in this meal.  For those who wish to have grape juice instead of wine, it is available at the center of the communion tray.

 

 

 

COMMENDATION

     Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Melisse. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light.
C - Amen.

 

BLESSING  “As You Go On Your Way”

 

SENDING HYMN

“You Who Dwell in the Shelter of the Lord”

 

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, who abide in this shadow for life,

Say to the Lord: “My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!”

 

Refrain

And I will raise you up on eagle’s wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of my hand”

 

Snares of the fowler will never capture you, and famine will bring you no fear;  under God’s wings your refuge with faithfulness your shield. Refrain

 

For to the angels God’s given a command to guard you in all of your ways’

Upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Refrain

 

 

Melisse Siew  Buland

September 24, 1985 - December 01, 2006

 

Born:  September 24, 1985 in Morgantown, West Virginia

Passed away:  Friday evening, December 1, 2006, in Fort Worth. 

 

     She is survived by her parents David and Tiew-Eng Buland of Crowley, Texas, her brother Alton and sister Khim, her grandparents Virgil and LaVonne Buland of Chandler, Arizona and Mr. and Mrs. Chew Kai Heng of Malacca, Malaysia, as well as relatives from Minnesota to Malaysia and countless friends. 

 

the pallbearers:
Alton Buland
William Burke
Jason Cook
Justin Cook
Chris Kjelland
Alex Lewis
John Snyder

 

Memorial Service at Covenant Lutheran Church

Thursday, December 7, 2006

4202 Hickory Road  Temple, TX  76502

Pastor Steve Qualben

Jennifer Oliver, pianist

 

Disposition of ashes will be at the “Perfect Tree”