The Service

by Wesley Sanders

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit
Here and now, dear friends, we are God's children
A life we love has been torn from us
The mystery of death has stricken us
O God, you know the lives we live and the deaths we die-
woven so strangely of purpose and of chance
of strength and of frailty, of happiness and of pain.
Behold our tears, and bind up the wounds of our hearts
Through the mystery of pain,
bring us into closer communion with you and with one another
Raise us from death into life.

Friends, we have gathered here together to celebrate the life of Tracy
We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss
May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort
in sorrow, hope, in death, resurrection.

HYMN Be Still My Soul #534

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside still waters.
he restores my soul:
he leads me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me,
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou prepares a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

God of us all, your love never ends
When all else fails, you still are God.
We pray to you for one another in our need
and for all, anywhere, who mourn with us this day
To those who doubt, give light
to those who are weak, strength
to those who sorrow, peace
Keep true in us, the love with which we hold one another
In all our ways we trust you
All to you, with your Church on earth and in heaven, we offer honor and glory
now and forever, amen.

EULOGY

Matthew 8:23-25 As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And a great storm developed on the sea so that the waves began to swamp the boat. But he was asleep. So they came and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!” But he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was dead calm.

Part of why I chose this Scripture is because Tracy had such a love for sailing. This passage is often called "jesus calms the storm", although I'm not sure tracy always wanted the seas calm. I remember one year when we went to the beach with my extended family and tracy joined us, he and my mom had their own adventure on the wild seas: a metal pin broke and the sail came down while they were out on his Hobie boat. They eventually made it safe and although it was a scary experience for all of us I think Tracy probably enjoyed the adventure to some degree. But he worked hard to make sure my mom was safe while trying to get to shore. He and my mom were so happy together. There was no way you could spend time with the two of them without seeing that love that they share. Tracy was devoted to his family and I know it was a very hard choice for him to uproot my brothers, mom, and I and move us here to New York. But he worked hard to make this our new home. And we flourished here in what could have been a very difficult adjustment because tracy worked hard to make us a home here in Freeville. He loved his family and in spite of the sometimes immense stress of his disease, he gave so much of himself to my mom, to his children, and to me and my brothers.

His love that he left us will carry on and will help calm the storm that has cast itself over us right now.

My mom wanted me to read this as a reminder that tracy's journey has taken him sailing to a new lake, his legacy and love are still here.

"A Parable of Immortality" by Henry van Dyke.

I am standing by the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch
until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sun and sky come down to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says, 'There she goes!
Gone where? Gone from my sight - that is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the places of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says,
'There she goes! ' ,
there are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout :
'Here she comes!'

Tracy's last year was very hard for him in many ways, but I know one of the most difficult was that he couldn't sail. I know he's out on that new lake in the kingdom of God now, sailing once again. Will you pray with me? Almighty God, just as you calmed the seas with your disciples, calm the seas that rock our lives this day. Help us to have the assurance that Tracy is now in your kingdom, sailing with you. God, give us comfort, hope, and peace in this time of trial. Amen. If you could join me in singing hymn #344, Lord, You have Come to the Lake Shore

HYMN #344 Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore

WITNESS
Gary Napier
Trevor French
Alan French
Tracy Stokol

HYMN #377 It Is Well or Precious Lord Take my hand

DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING
The peace of God which passes all understanding
keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God.
As we offer Tracy back into your arms,
comfort us in our loneliness,
strengthen us in our weakness,
and give us the courage to face the future unafraid.
Draw those of us who remain in this life closer to one another,
make us faithful to serve one another,
and give us to know your peace and joy.
May the blessing of God Almighty
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Be among you and remain with you always. Amen.