Celebration
and Thanksgiving for the Life of
Kit
Widdows
Human
being, friend, priest, husband, father, grandfather and much much more.
10th
September 1946 – 8th December 2007
The Service in Church
Processional music: From
‘The Creation’ by Haydn
Welcome by the Lord Mayor of
Funeral sentences during which the Advent
candles are lit
Hymn:
Cry ‘Freedom!’ in the name
of God
and let the cry resound;
proclaim for all that
freedom
which in Jesus Christ is
found,
for none of us is truly free
while anyone is bound.
Cry ‘Freedom!’ cry ‘Freedom!’
in God’s name, in God’s name!
Cry ‘Freedom!’ cry ‘Freedom!’
in God’s name!
Cry ‘Freedom!’ for the
victims
of the earthquake and the rain:
where wealthy folk find shelter
and the poor must bear the pain;
where weapons claim resources
while the famine strikes again.
Cry ‘Freedom!’ for dictators
in their fortresses confined,
who hide behind their bodyguards
and fear the open mind,
and bid them find true
freedom
in the good of humankind.
Cry ‘Freedom!’ in the church
when
honest doubts are met with
fear;
when vacuum-packed theology
makes questions disappear;
when journeys end before
they start
and mystery is clear!
Cry ‘Freedom!’ when we find
ourselves
imprisoned in our greed,
to live in free relationship
and meet each other’s need.
From self released for
other’s good
we should be free indeed!
Michael Forster
Greeting:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
The Lord be with you
All: And
also with you.
The Rev’d Kevin Hunt introduces the
liturgy:
The grace of God is dawning upon the world with healing for all.
Though we have grieved him, yet he will heal us when we confess our sins in
penitence and faith:
You, Lord, are the light of the world, and dispel the dark:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord,
have mercy.
You watch over our journeying and are with us on the way:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord,
have mercy.
Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light to my path:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord,
have mercy.
May the God of light shine upon you,
forgive you your sins, guide you on your way
and bring you to the fullness of life;
All: Amen.
Collect
This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks
be to God.
Psalm 23. We all join with the following
response:
All: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I
shall want.
Hymn:
O Thou Who camest from above,
The fire celestial to impart,
Kindle a flame of sacred love
on the mean altar of my heart.
There let it for Thy glory burn
With inextinguishable blaze,
and trembling to its source return
in humble prayer and fervent praise.
Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire
to work and speak and think for Thee;
still let me guard the holy fire
and still stir up the gift in me.
Ready for all Thy perfect will,
my acts of faith and love repeat,
till death Thy endless mercies seal,
and make the sacrifice complete.
Charles
Wesley
Reading by
John Pearson from Kit’s novel ‘Fourth Witness’. It is Kit’s translation of
The reading
is announced:
Hear the Gospel of
Our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
All: Glory to You, O Lord
Love began it.
Love is how God tells it.
Love is God.
Love lights a living lantern in the dark
and
its gentle strength wins over every shadow.
Love is not a Thing.
So those who say ‘to know’ means ‘know about’ cannot
‘know’ Love.
Love has no atoms and no molecules:
Love rates low in an ‘Enlightened’ age.
Love became human; an animal, and God.
And all who understand this themselves become all
three.
Love came camping with us;
By day we climbed the hills,
discovering
the hidden lakes and unexpected views;
By night we drank and talked,
discovering
hidden views and unexpected depths.
We have shared all this
from
the First Sign to the Last Supper:
Love’s lantern burns in us
and
we in turn must light a lamp
Entering a world which,
glitter
blind, does not know Love.
This is the Gospel
of the Lord.
All: Praise to You, O Christ.
The
affirmation of faith:
We believe in God,
who is love and who has given the earth to all people.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
who came to heal us, and to free us from all kinds of oppression.
We believe in the Spirit of God,
who works in and through all who are turned towards the truth.
We believe in the community of faith,
which is called to be at the service of all people.
We believe in God’s power to transform and
transfigure,
fulfilling the promise of a new heaven and a new earth
where justice and peace will flourish.
Intercessions:
The response to ‘Lord, hear us’ is:
All: Lord, graciously hear us.
Geoff Rossman MBE will offer a prayer in the Jewish tradition.
Hymn:
From heav’n you came, helpless babe,
Entered our world, your glory veiled;
Not to be served but to serve,
And give your life that we might live.
This
is our God, the Servant King,
He calls us now to follow him,
to
bring our lives as a daily offering
of worship to the Servant King.
There in the garden of tears,
my heavy load he chose to bear;
His heart with sorrow was torn,
'Yet not my will but yours,' he said.
Come see his hands and his feet,
the scars that speak of sacrifice;
hands that flung stars into space
to cruel nails surrendered.
So let us learn how to serve,
and in our lives enthrone him;
each other's needs to prefer,
for it is Christ we're serving.
Graham Kendrick
The
Thanksgiving Prayer:
The Lord
is here.
All: His Spirit is
with us.
Lift up
your hearts.
All: We lift them to
the Lord.
Let us
give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to
give thanks and praise.
Blessed
are you gracious God …
… evermore
praising you and saying:
All: Holy, holy, holy,
Lord, God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
We
praise and bless you, loving Father,
through
Jesus Christ, our Lord;
and as
we obey his command,
send
your Holy Spirit,
that
broken bread and wine outpoured
may be for us the body and blood of your dear Son.
On the
night before he died he had supper with his friends
and, taking bread, he praised you.
He broke
the bread, gave it to them and said:
Take,
eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
When
supper was ended he took the cup of wine.
Again
he praised you, gave it to them and said:
Drink
this, all of you;
This is
my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do
this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
So,
Father, we remember all that Jesus did,
in him we plead with confidence his sacrifice
made once for all upon the cross.
Bringing
before you the bread of life and cup of salvation,
we
proclaim his death and resurrection
until he comes in glory.
All: Dying you
destroyed our death,
rising you restored our life:
Lord Jesus, come in glory.
Lord of all life,
help us to work together for that day
when your kingdom comes
and justice and mercy will be seen in all the earth.
Look with favour on your people,
gather us in your loving arms
and bring us with
together with Kit our brother,
to feast at your table in heaven.
Through Christ, and with Christ, and in
Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours, O loving Father,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The
Lord’s Prayer:
All: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us
from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are
yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
A
few words from Heather and Dominic Widdows.
The
breaking of the bread and invitation to Communion:
Every
time we eat this bread and drink this cup,
All: We proclaim the
Lord’s death until he comes.
God’s
holy gifts for God’s holy people.
All: Jesus Christ is
holy, Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
As
the bread and wine is passed we use the words:
‘The
body of Christ’ and ‘The blood of Christ’.
To
which each person responds,
‘Amen’.
Hymn:
One more step
along the world I go,
one more step along the world I go.
From the old things to the new
keep me travelling along with you.
And it's from
the old I travel to the new,
keep me travelling along with you.
Round the corners
of the world I turn,
more and more about the world I learn.
All the new things that I see
you’ll be looking at along with me.
As I travel through the bad and good,
keep me travelling the way I should.
Where I see no way to go,
you’ll be telling me the way, I know.
Give me courage when the world is rough,
keep me loving though the world is tough.
Leap and sing in all I do,
keep me travelling along with you.
You are older than the world can be,
you are younger than the life in me.
Ever old and ever new,
keep me travelling along with you.
Sidney
Carter
After
communion there will be a prayer after which we pray together.
All: Father of All, we give you thanks and praise, that when we
were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home.
Dying and living, he declared your love,
gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.
May we who share Christ’s body live his
risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit
lights give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before
us, so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to
praise your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Reading by Rev’d Ruth Parry,
‘Batter my Heart’ by John Donne.
Hymn:
Thine be 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.
Thine be the glory, risen
conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, thou o’er death hast won.
Lo! Jesus meets us,
risen from the
tomb;
lovingly he greets us,
scatters fear
and gloom.
Let the Church with gladness,
hymns of triumph
sing,
for her Lord now liveth;
death hath lost
its sting.
No more we doubt
thee,
glorious Prince
of Life;
life is naught without thee;
aid us in our
strife.
Make us more than conqu’rors
through thy
deathless love;
bring us safe through
to thy home
above.
Edmund
Loius Budry
Commendation by Bishop Paul
and Bishop Martin.
Recessional Music: Grand March from Aida
You are invited to go straight to the Civic Centre Banqueting Hall
for a reception where Gillian and her children
look forward to seeing you when they return from the crematorium.
From Common Worship, 2000; © The Archbishops’
Council of the Church of England.
Words
printed under Christian copyright Licence No. 28737
Live, Love and Laugh
Life is for Laughter
Brief breath of being
Hope on the heart-strings
Sensible seeing
Believe and be tentative
Nothing is absolute
Except what we choose.
Love might be absolute
But test it for trickery
Give to the Godhead
But settle for secondary.
Live for the moment
Moments of eternity
Love is an absolute
For freely we choose.
Laugh at my long-face
Defy my dogmatics
Help me to hopefulness,
Further my faith.
Teach me to try it;
Prepare me to pray it,
I’m my own absolute
O God, help me choose!
Kit Widdows
4th January 1998
All readings are available on the website
(www.puttypeg.net/kit)