A Service of Celebration for the Life of Sue Southall - Monday 17th October 2022

[0:00] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles. Well, good afternoon and welcome everyone.

[0:14] If you don't know me, my name's Matt. I'm the vicar here at St. John's. We've come together as family, as friends, as church, and as a community to remember and to give thanks to God for Sue, for Mum, for Nanny, someone who has been greatly loved and so appreciated by so many people.

[0:40] This is clearly a day that none of us wanted to be happening. Indeed, it remains difficult to process that Sue, someone who's been such a caring and ever-present companion to so many of us is now so sadly no longer with us.

[0:59] The suddenness of her parting makes in many ways her absence from our lives tougher to take and we miss her. We miss her very much.

[1:12] And yet in the absence of her physical presence with us, what remains until we meet again is the legacy of a life which was filled to the brim with kindness and care and compassion.

[1:29] And we'll be giving thanks for Sue's life in the course of our time this afternoon. You'll be aware, and many were there, that Sue's family and close friends gathered at Cunwick Chase Crematorium for a service in which we commended Sue to God and committed her body to be cremated.

[1:48] The idea for the crematorium service to come first was Sue's. As you'll know, she was an organized individual and had made sure for some time that plans for her funeral were firmly in place, including that opening hymn of praise to which we've just listened.

[2:09] Now, part of that planning was her desire that this church service should be a time of celebration. And we will gladly celebrate her and the love and the life which we have shared with Sue.

[2:25] But knowing Sue, I suspect that the main motivation behind her wanting a service of celebration was that it would give us an opportunity to celebrate God's goodness and love.

[2:39] A goodness and love which Sue knew so profoundly for herself and which ultimately helped to shape and sustain her life and faith. Jesus famously said, I am the resurrection and the life.

[2:56] Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. And so, yes, with that in mind, we come together in sadness for the loss of our friend Sue.

[3:13] But we also come together in gratitude to God for the life he gave her, for the joy it was to share in it with her. And most of all, we come together with confidence, knowing that Sue is now in the arms of the saviour whom she loved and served with all her heart.

[3:35] And so as we begin, let's pray and let's ask that God will be at the centre of all that this service is about. Heavenly Father, as we gather together in your presence today, we thank you for Sue and for the life you gave her.

[3:53] In the midst of both our gratitude and our grief, we ask for your strength, your comfort, your hope to be with us today. Thank you that in you is life everlasting.

[4:08] Help us to worship you and to put our trust in you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen.

[4:20] Now, as part of her planning, Sue had asked for a number of hymns and songs of worship which she'd like sung today. And so we start with a bit of a modern classic, the song, Bless the Lord, O My Soul.

[4:34] You'll find the words on the orders of service, which I hope many of us have got sight of. They'll also be on the screens as well. So if you're able, shall we stand together please to sing our first hymn.

[4:46] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.

[5:04] Worship His holy name. Sing what never before. O my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[5:21] The sun comes up. It's a new day dawning.

[5:31] It's time to sing your song again. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me.

[5:44] Let me sing it. Let me sing it. Let me sing it. When the evening comes. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.

[5:58] Worship His holy name. Sing like never before. Oh, my soul, O my soul.

[6:10] I'll worship your holy name. You're rich in love and you're slow to anger.

[6:23] Your name is great and your heart is kind. For all your goodness I will keep on singing.

[6:35] Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.

[6:50] Worship His holy name. Sing like never before. Oh, my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[7:09] And on that day when my strength is failing, The end draws near and my time has come.

[7:22] Still my soul, I'll sing your praise unending. Ten thousand years and then forever more.

[7:37] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Worship His holy name.

[7:49] Sing like never before. Sing like never before. Oh, my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[8:01] And bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before. Oh, my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[8:13] Sing like never before before. Sing like never before. Oh, my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[8:29] So, my soul, I'll worship your holy name. Worship your holy name.

[8:45] Well sung. Do please take a seat. I'd like to invite Jane up now. He's going to come and bring us our first Bible reading for today. Reading from the book of Ecclesiastes.

[8:57] There is a time for everything. And a season for every activity under the heavens.

[9:12] A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to kill and a time to heal.

[9:24] A time to tear down and a time to build. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance.

[9:40] A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.

[9:51] A time to search and a time to give up. A time to keep and a time to throw away.

[10:03] A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate.

[10:15] A time to be silent and a time to fight. A time to fight. A time to fight. A time to fight. A time to fight. A time for war. And a time for peace. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

[10:30] He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

[10:44] I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil.

[11:00] This is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever. Nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.

[11:13] Amen. Thank you. Thanks very much, Jane. We're going to hear various words of tribute today.

[11:25] And so first I'd like to invite two great friends of Sue's, Diane and Carolyn, forward as they share some of their own memories of Sue. Good afternoon, everyone.

[11:40] My name is Diane and I'm here on behalf of Sue's house group, The Harvesters, to pay a tribute to our beloved friend, Sue.

[11:50] So how can we sum up our Sue? No words will do justice to just how much of an impact she had on each of our lives.

[12:03] Sue was S for selfless, servant and sacrificial. U for unforgettable, unwavering and unimpeachable.

[12:19] And E for encouraging, energetic and exceptional. She was the backbone of our group. She could always be relied upon to be there, to contribute, to pray and to help.

[12:38] She was our glue. If someone mentioned a problem or a need, she was there. Sue was like a safety net in a confusing world.

[12:53] Always first on the scene when you had something going wrong in your life. With flowers, cards, a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.

[13:04] Always willing to have a go at leading a session. Always ready to step out of her comfort zone if she thought she could assist.

[13:17] Sue was funny. Sue was naive. Always happy to join in with fun. Even when she didn't understand what we were laughing at.

[13:30] We did try to educate her. But we loved her the way that she was. Our little ray of sunshine. Always ready to provide food for any social.

[13:43] We once had enough boiled rice salad to live off for a month. And her jam buns were legendary. When we talk about random acts of kindness, Sue could have invented them.

[13:58] Meals turning up anonymously on doorsteps. Babysitting to the extreme. On one occasion, to help out one of us, she took a child to the fun fair and went on every ride with him.

[14:13] Even though she came back with a green face and nausea. She was a woman who certainly lived sacrificially for others. Sue was kind.

[14:25] And would give of her time, day or night. She never shied away from a challenge. And her volunteering was always in the most difficult situations.

[14:41] There are so many people whose lives have been changed by her kindness, cooking, cleaning, childcare, shopping, encouraging.

[14:55] She was always readily available if you needed her. Some of the memories and comments from our group were, She loved a clipboard.

[15:09] She stuck to the rules. Her love for us all shone through. She was a source of wisdom and good advice.

[15:21] She had a great impact on newcomers, going the extra mile to welcome them. You could trust Sue with your life.

[15:32] What you saw was what you got. Sue saw everyone else as worthy, but could never see how marvellous she was.

[15:45] She will be impossible to replace and has left a wonderful legacy in her family. She was so proud of her sons. Her daughter-in-law and her grandchildren.

[15:58] They're all amazing people, thanks to Sue's influence. Some of us have known Sue for over 30 years.

[16:09] And there are so many stories we could relate about our Sue. But we'd be here for hours. So I want to finish by saying, on behalf of the group, We'll miss you, Sue.

[16:23] You've left such a big hole in so many lives. It's been a privilege to have known you. May you now rest in peace.

[16:34] And we're sure you're sorting our rooms out ready for us. Till we meet again. God bless this.

[16:46] Thank you. I'm going to talk about our holiday adventures that we had together. We certainly had some of those.

[16:59] The first time that we went abroad to Tenerife. The pure joy on Sue's face as we got off the plane. And her hands went up. Oh, the heat.

[17:10] The heat. She just loves to be hot and warm. And then she went to Mallorca with Cathy and myself.

[17:22] To meet Mallorca. We went to Minorca. And I remember the funny sayings that she would come out with. And we would tease her about it.

[17:33] We went to Tunisia and visited a mosque. And the hotel was amazing. And absolutely boiling hot. We went to Corfu.

[17:47] And we went exploring to a taverna on top of a great big hill. And it was absolutely beautiful. And then just Sue and I, we went to Costa del Sol.

[18:00] Because Cathy was having an operation. We went exploring. We caught buses. And we explored caves. Which was absolutely brilliant. And then we went to Bulgaria.

[18:11] It was the worst hotel that we'd ever been in. But we had the best of times. We walked along the shore, picking up seashells.

[18:23] We held hands in the sea and jumped the waves. We had a bike ride where my terrible steery nearly took a beach umbrella with us.

[18:35] And we dressed up as Victorian ladies at a booth. It was such great fun. We went to Rhodes twice. And we found a church.

[18:46] We always tried to find a church when we went away. And the one church we went to, we had our own translator. And we went to an outdoor folk concert.

[18:58] Zante was another place we went to, remembering our horse-drawn carriage ride in the evening and the beautiful beaches. Then we went to Pathos in Cyprus.

[19:11] Went to an evening church service where St Paul had been, which was really, really special. And the vicar was English, which was wonderful. We would explore ruins and on most holidays try to do a bus tour so we could see where we'd been.

[19:31] We went away with Diane and her family to Tenerife to celebrate Diane's birthday. And as usual, Sue was always ready to help.

[19:42] We went to a water park. And it was fabulous watching the younger folk enjoying the water. We stayed on the beach. And our last adventure together.

[19:56] We went to Corfu to a place called Bernice's. It was a great hotel. It was lovely. And Sue, so enjoyed the food there. And we always, when we went on holiday, worked our way through the cocktail list.

[20:11] And she pushed herself on holiday. She went in the water and she did acrobics. And she was just so brave. And I'm so proud of her that she did that.

[20:25] And I must mention the gin and tonics as well. We almost lost her on a bus. As it drove off, she was asking for the info where it would stop.

[20:37] And she told the driver and the conductor off as she'd been left behind. A joy-dropping moment for Diane and myself. A privilege to have shared these adventures with Sue.

[20:51] And now she's gone on her biggest one. Now with Jesus. So God bless you, dear friend and sister. Sure, appreciation.

[21:02] Well done. Well done. Well done. Well done. Well done. Well done. Lovely stuff.

[21:15] Thank you so much, Diane. Thank you, Carolyn. And thank you to all the Harvesters House group as well. All right. We're going to sing again another choice of Sue's for today.

[21:28] And so if you're able, let's stand together to sing the song, How Deep the Father's Love for Us. How deep the Father's love for us.

[21:48] How vast beyond all measure. That he should give his only soul.

[21:59] To make a wretch his treasure. How great the pain of searing loss.

[22:12] The Father turned his face away. As wounds which are the chosen one.

[22:24] Bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon a cross.

[22:36] My sin upon his shoulders. Ashamed I hear my mocking forest.

[22:49] Fall out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there.

[23:00] Until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life.

[23:12] I know that it is finished. I will not boast in anything.

[23:24] No gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ.

[23:38] His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from his reward?

[23:50] I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart.

[24:02] His wounds have paid my run. The Lord is now with all my heart. I cannot give an answer. I cannot give an answer. I cannot give an answer.

[24:13] I cannot give an answer. Do you please be seated. Now Sue was devoted grandmother, nanny to Zachary and Noah and Amelia to Lexi May and Logan.

[24:26] And they are going to come forward now and share some of their own poems and words of tribute to their nanny. So if you would like, come on down. And Amelia, do you want to go first?

[24:38] Come on down. Come on down. Maybe bring your brothers with you as well if you want. Mum coming up. There we go. So there is your poem. Come on. We are doing it together.

[24:51] Playing bowls in the garden. Every time me and my brothers stayed over, we always got bacon baps. Nanny always made us syrup sponge for Sunday dinner.

[25:04] Going to Chasewater and the park. Up to helping hand to look for teddy bears. I liked baking jam buns with nanny.

[25:16] Nanny, I will always love you. Thank you. And there's a picture that Amelia has painted of her and her nanny.

[25:34] Well done. Well done. Come on, my friend. Nanny was the most kind and wonderful person I ever knew. She always knew a way to cheer me up, whether it was doing some baking together or just having a chat with me.

[25:48] She always changed my mood for the better. My favourite day out memory was when Dad, Nanny, Zach and I went to Old Trafford to watch a football match. The atmosphere was amazing and nanny was having a wonderful time.

[26:01] I even loved it when nanny would mix up our names, calling me John, Rob, Zachary. Oh, I mean Noah. Nanny, you'll be in my heart forever.

[26:13] I love you. Nanny. Nanny meant the world to me.

[26:24] Anything I asked for, she'd have probably done. Any football game, Mum or Dad weren't there. I'm 100% sure she'd probably go. She'd make it a priority. She was everything. Remember that horrible lockdown?

[26:35] I always went and rode my bike to her, even with Uncle John. A small shot in the driveway would have made both mine and her day. I always push myself to be the best person to be. Even though I know she'll be there when I'm doing my exams in May or June.

[26:48] I know she would have wanted me to do my best and the best I could have ever been. Now I know whatever path I'm on in life, I'm always going to be supported by her. Thank you. Nanny. Goodbye. Well done.

[27:07] Amelia, Zach and Noah, well done indeed. And then there's a poem from Lexi May and Logan. Do you want to come on down and read it or do you want me to come to you with a mic? Would that be easier?

[27:18] Do you want to come down the front? What do you reckon? Shall we come on here? Go on. You come down here. My nanny is my special friend. She's as caring as can be.

[27:29] She loves me. I tell you what, I'll come and sit with us.

[27:45] And I get the privilege of reading these words. It's from Lexi May and Logan. My nanny is my special friend.

[27:58] She's as caring as can be. She loves me no matter what I do. She sees the best in me. I'll always love you, nanny.

[28:09] My love I'd like to show. So take this poem with you, so you will always know. Lots of love forever and always.

[28:21] Lexi May and Logan. Well done. Well done indeed.

[28:31] Well done. And then alongside Amelia's painting, there's some artwork, which Lexi May and Logan have done as well up here. So do make sure you have a look at that a little bit later on as well.

[28:44] Okay. Continuing the family theme. I'd like to invite Marie forward now, who's going to come and share a poem with us. Thank you. Thank you. I don't know if I can follow these wonderful poems so well.

[28:58] The literary content maybe isn't quite so good, but I hope you'll understand the sentiment. I just simply called it Sue. Just 12 days after the NHS was launched, a baby girl, Sue, was born.

[29:15] The eldest of three children, a precious lady we now mourn. It seems coincidental, though, that the service then, so newly formed, provided compassion, dignity, respect and care.

[29:34] The same mantra that throughout her life dear Sue with love performed. This diminutive, quiet figure crossing paths with you in the street, a more kind and caring person you'd find difficult to meet.

[29:53] She took seriously her duties, both daytime and at night. A true angel here on earth to those especially in plight.

[30:05] I know that those who know her well, or those who'd met her just once or twice, will remember her with fondness for her friendship, kindness and advice.

[30:20] How vividly I remember our animated weekly conversations about family, friends, recent news and our small but delightful garden nations of birds, insects, butterflies and a variety.

[30:42] Oh, and bees, I beg your pardon. Delicate flowers, plants, and a variety of trees. And Sue, it was so plain to see the love you had for your own dearest family.

[30:59] Supporting, helping, having fun, enjoying the company. From the first day that we met, you helped me feel at ease.

[31:13] You didn't just talk, but you listened to your special expertise. Not to mention this next of me would be truly a miss.

[31:26] For Sue, you really touched my heart. The day you first called me sis. A life well lived, unselfish, so full of loving things.

[31:41] You've well and truly, with flying colours, earned your precious angel wings. With my thanks to you, God bless you.

[31:52] And though it's time to part, you'll always and forever be here within my heart. Thank you, Sue. Lovely stuff.

[32:12] Thanks very much indeed, Marie. I'm just going to read another couple of short family tributes. Firstly, from Sue's brother, David, who says this. It says, On behalf of everyone, that's all the people that she has met at St. John's, her church.

[32:29] The young people she visited in prison. Those that she helped through late night listeners and pathway projects. Her close friends and neighbours. All her family.

[32:40] And from me, David, her brother. From Marie, my partner. And from Ray, her sister. A big thank you to Sue. Well done.

[32:52] Thank you. Thank you. And now, some words from Ray and Ken. Ray says this.

[33:02] To my dear, little, big sister Sue, Ken and I are so sad and sorry that we cannot be there to say a proper goodbye to you and join the celebration of your life.

[33:12] You knew Ken was poorly. And one of the last things you told me was that you were praying for him and asking your group to pray too. Thank you. He seems to be getting better.

[33:26] Already, I miss you so much, Sue. Geographically, we were never close. But we were always in each other's thoughts. And in recent times, we were closer than ever, chatting on the phone and Whatsapp-ing.

[33:40] I enjoyed that so much. Hearing about John, Rob and Laura, all the grandchildren, all your very good friends and your numerous activities. Thank you, Sue, for sharing your life with me and for all your support and care.

[33:59] You were and always will be my very special, dear, little, big sister Sue. And I will never stop missing you and loving you with love from both of us, Ray and Ken.

[34:16] All right. Applause And then last, but by no means least, I think on behalf of Sue's sons, John and Rob, I'd like to read a tribute that they've written entitled Our Mum.

[34:36] Our Mum was warm, friendly and compassionate and always went out of her way to help others, no matter what. She also had a sense of humour and of mischief and was always ready to give anything a go except go ape.

[34:53] You've got to ask Lexi and Logan about that. It was her passion for life and ability to help others that endeared her to so many. And it's a testament that so many of you that are here today to celebrate her life with us.

[35:10] We rarely express our gratitude for someone and words are never easy to say. But we are fortunate to be her sons and it's an absolute honour to call her mum.

[35:23] Our mum was born in 1948 in Shrewsbury, is that right? Spot on. She was brought up along with her brother Dave and sister Ray with traditional values, values that she believed in whilst we were growing up and still now as her grandchildren Zach, Noah, Amelia, Lexi May and Logan are growing up too.

[35:49] A stock phrase whenever we, John and Rob, did anything amiss was that we weren't too big for a clip round the ear or the slipper even when we towered over her.

[36:03] Well, Rob, anyway, says John. Our mum never really sat and talked that much about herself. She always wanted to know how we were, how the grandchildren were and what we'd all been up to.

[36:17] It would only be when we were talking generally that it would prompt her to tell us about moments from her past. For example, Rob was talking about how cold it was in the house once.

[36:28] She mentioned that when she was little she would share a bed with her brother and sister fully dressed just to keep warm and she'd paint a picture of the home to be akin to a metal shed.

[36:42] However, she was always, or she always said she had a really happy childhood and her face always lit up when she talked about her regular family holidays to Borth each summer taking the train from Shrewsbury to Borth so much so that in fact this year we all took her there on her birthday.

[37:00] She was in her elements on the beach teaching us a game that she used to play as a child on her holidays called New Shoes. We were still unsure of the exact rules but we were all laughing so much that the simple game itself became a highlight of the day.

[37:18] Although sued after nearly everyone was back on their phones how times have changed they say. Later in the day though when we walked down the main road to where the holiday home mum had stayed in as a child was she was adamant and convinced that it was this specific one so much so that mum had no fear in walking up to it knocking on the door and striking up a conversation with the current owner only to find out that the old home had in fact been knocked down and a new one built in its place.

[37:52] But that was mum all over. She would talk to anyone and everyone about anything. Mum has always worked hard throughout all her life and in doing so was sent to catering college in Walsall.

[38:07] It was after finishing catering college and through her early catering career in the Royal Mail that she met our dad and ultimately and only for a while gave up work to raise us both which we don't think she did too bad a job.

[38:23] She then returned to work and always worked hard to provide us with everything we needed sometimes working several different jobs at a time to make ends meet. Ultimately though it was her work with Oscars which brought her much joy and at times stress but mostly achievement also for many years.

[38:46] It was a job at Oscars which took her up to retirement which wasn't really retirement for Sue as instead of taking a step back and relaxing she went full steam ahead with charitable work for late night listeners prison fellowship walking groups lunch groups with her greatest joy being able to help out here at church in any way she could.

[39:08] Her charitable nature also included and will continue to include sponsoring a child called Ethel through UK Compassion along with some of her close and dear friends Carolyn, Cathy and Betty.

[39:22] There's also her continued support for Pathway Project founded by Cathy which recently inspired her to spray her hair pink to raise money. It was an effort which was a real highlight to the grandchildren so much so that only last week and totally separate to the event Lexi May and Logan had a sponsored colour run at their school where upon finishing absolutely covered head to toe in colour they both said they looked like their nanny with the colour stained into their hair.

[39:53] Indeed in Lexi May and Logan's words they say she always looked after us both so well including through times of illness sickness and injury which were a common occurrence on our holidays as a family.

[40:09] Mum was an animal lover too. Over the years I'd bought a collie dog Bess and holly as well as rabbits guinea pigs a cat budgie and fish. Another of mum's passions was sport.

[40:22] She was always asking how the grandchildren had got on at various sporting events and if there was a football match on television regardless of who was playing she'd be watching it in earnest.

[40:34] She always kept saying how lucky she was when we took her to various sporting events such as an England football match Manchester United game and most recently to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

[40:46] She also never sat on the sidelines if as a family we were playing cricket on the beach football over the field or even just bowls in her back garden. She would always join in but then often say that she felt the aches and pains the following day.

[41:03] Our mum wasn't just the best mum we could have ever wished for but she was also the best nanny to our children and her grandchildren Zach, Noah, Amelia, Lexi May and Logan and her warmth her passion her generosity her jam buns and her love will so easily be missed but her memory will live on as will her legacy.

[41:33] She was loved by a lot but she was adored by us. And they conclude. We are so grateful to so many of you for recognising our mum as the wonderful woman she was.

[41:48] Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for being here today. That's from John and Rob. Great stuff.

[42:06] Thank you both. Thank you both very much. Alright. Time to sing again another hymn selection of Suze. Once again the words are on the orders of service on the screens too.

[42:17] So if you're able can we stand together please to sing in Christ alone In Christ alone my hope is found He is my light my strength my song His cornerstone A solid ground found through the fiercest love and stone What heights of love What depths of knees When fears are stilled When strivings cease My comfort all My all in all Here in the love of Christ I stand I stand In Christ alone

[43:25] You took on flesh Felt as a part in hell Let's bear This gift of love Unrighteousness Spent by the ones He came To save Till on that cross As Jesus died The wrath of God Was satisfied For every sin On Him was laid Here in the death Of Christ I live Where in the ground His body lay Light of the world By darkness slain Then bursting forth In glorious day

[44:27] Up from the grave He rose again And as He stands In victory Sin's curse Has lost its grip On me For I am His And He is mine Both with the precious blood Of Christ No guilt in life No fear in death This is the power of Christ In me From life's first cry To final death Jesus commands my destiny No power of hell No scheme of man Can ever pluck me

[45:30] From His hand Till He returns Or close me home Here in the power of Christ I stand No power of hell No scheme of man Think I'll ever pluck me From His hand Till He returns Or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I stand Will you please be seated Thank you We're going to hear Our second Bible reading For today From Sharon Reading which speaks Of the assurance We can have Both for ourselves And for Sue Of the eternal life

[46:32] And hope Which God offers To each of us Through Jesus Thank you Sharon Reading from 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 Verses 13 to 18 Brothers and sisters We do not want you To be uninformed About those who sleep In death So that you do not grieve Like the rest of mankind Who have no hope For we believe That Jesus died And rose again And so we believe That God will bring With Jesus Those who have fallen Asleep in Him According to the Lord's word We tell you That we who are still alive Who are left Until the coming Of the Lord Will certainly not Precede those Who have fallen asleep For the Lord Himself Will come down From heaven With a loud command With the voice Of the archangel

[47:32] And with the trumpet Call of God And the dead in Christ Will rise first After that We are still alive And our left Will be caught up Together With them in the clouds To meet the Lord In the air And so we will be With the Lord Forever Therefore Encourage one another With these words Thank you Thanks very much Sharon And that reading is indeed An encouragement Thank you Well it's been great to hear So many Words of tribute From friends And family Today And online too I don't know if you've seen On Facebook There have been Countless messages On our church Facebook page I think over 700 Reactions To the news Of Sue's passing Well over 300 comments All of which were

[48:34] Heartfelt In their sadness But equally heartfelt In their gratitude For Sue And for someone Who was so Self effacing Someone so humble Sue Sue has had An incredibly Positive impact On so many people As today's turnout Is testimony to Indeed as we heard There was so much That she Was involved with Her role as Dinner lady At Chasetown High For example Where her Playground surveillance Skills Earned her the affectionate Nickname Of radar I know There was a time As we heard Over seeing Oscars And the hundreds Literally hundreds Of children She cared for With that out of school Provision There's been the various Administrative help That she's given Been a regular presence In our church office

[49:34] Here with Marie It's been the invaluable Help she's been to Cathy With Pathway From the very Earliest days And the ongoing Support She's given there There's a giving out Of flip flops And the offer of a Kind chat With Litchfield Revelers With late night Listeners It's been the Charity shop help The service With all sorts Of groups Here at St John's Whether it's YPC Little singers Little friends Or dropping All these ways And I know So many more Over so many years Indicate the wealth Of ways In which Sue Selflessly gave Of her time In order to support The well being Of others As well as Her family Well our community Sue's community Has been all the richer For having her In it In many ways And certainly For us As a family Sue was

[50:35] On call She was one of those Ever reliable people Who was always willing To babysit Or offer Practical support And as we've heard She was a great Encourager To Just came naturally To her Indeed I think The word Wonderful Was often to be heard Coming from her lips I remember her For that one And as we've heard She'd often leave meals Or flowers for folks Or pay them An unexpected visit As a reminder That they were known And loved As I say She was a hugely Positive person Who consistently Affirmed And built people up Myself included I've been very grateful For her kind words To me Every week Over the years Indeed what made These qualities All the more remarkable Was the fact that Although Sue lived through Some pretty tough And challenging times In her personal life

[51:35] She never let Those experiences Overwhelm Or indeed Shape her response No rather She modelled Kindness Care Forgiveness Generosity Choosing to live Her life In a way Of goodness Peace and grace You know That choice That determination That resolve We might say Where it was rooted In And empowered By The deep And profound Faith Which was at the Heart of Sue's life A faith In Jesus The one Whom she loved And served As not just Her inspiration But as her lord And saviour And friend And did I say It was Sue's faith You know Her awareness Of God's love In her life Which helped her To be sustained In her service Sustained by the presence

[52:36] Of God's spirit Living in And through her Sue had a gift Of being able To go Above and beyond A gift which I know She thrived On being able To express Because she understood The meaning Of those words Of Jesus That it is More blessed To give Than receive And my word Have we Benefited From all that She's given Of herself Over the years You know In some ways I'm tempted To say That this world Would be A better place If there were More Sue's Living in it But since There was And there Can only Ever be One Sue I guess That job Of making This world A better Place Of investing In community Life Of loving Our neighbours As ourselves Well that job Is a calling Which God Gives To each of us

[53:37] Just as he did With Sue But the beauty Of that calling Is that even Know it takes Energy And commitment It takes Humility And at times Sacrifice To fulfil Actually the Rewards Of a life Well lived Are clear To see Not just for The benefit It brings to Others But to Ourselves As well As we heard In that reading Which Jane Brought to us Earlier From Ecclesiastes The writer Says this He says I know That there is Nothing better For people Than to be Happy And to do Good While they Live That each Of them May eat And drink And find Satisfaction In all their Work This Is the Gift of God And I Know That everything God does Will endure Forever And so as we

[54:37] Celebrate And give Thanks to God For Sue's Life And her Legacy Today Seems to me That perhaps The best way We can express Our thanks for Sue And to God Is to Offer up Even dedicate Our own Lives To living In kind And caring And compassionate Ways That was Sue's Choice And in many Ways That's her Lasting Legacy To us Being someone Who modelled For us So well What selfless Loving service Looks like In practice And yet As Sue Herself Would surely Once saying In all of Her acts Of kindness Sue Was simply Pointing to The source Of all Kindness The God Who loves You And who Loves me More than We will Ever know The God Who came To live With us As Jesus In order To show

[55:37] Us What life Lived in God's Good way Is all About In order To show Us What life That overcomes Even death Looks like And so On this day When We have Entrusted Sue Into God's Eternally Good And loving Care May we Also be Able to Entrust Our own Lives To this Same God The God Who longs To help Us make The very Best Of this Life Both for Ourselves And for Others Amen Amen Indeed Before our Final hymn Let's pray And let's Place all That we Are and All that We've Heard Into God's Hands So loving God we Want to Thank you Once again For Sue We thank

[56:39] You for The life You gave Her For the Family The friends She so Enjoyed Being alongside Thank you For all the Things which Brought her Pleasure And happiness In this Life We thank You for The impact Which her Life has Had on Our Community Especially For the Love and The care She has Shared And we Thank you For your Love for Her Lord And for The fact That she Is now Enjoying Both you And all The company Of heaven And so We want To say Thank you God For Sue God God of Peace As we Lift Ourselves Before you We pray For us As we Grieve the Loss of Sue But we Especially hold Before you Rob and Laura Zach Noah Amelia John And for Chelsea For Lexi

[57:39] May and Logan For Dave And Marie Ray And Ken All of The family Lord And all Of Sue's Friends Both those Here And those Unable to Make it Today Would you Please enable All who Are grieving To know Your peace And your Comfort In their Own way In the Days and Weeks Ahead And then Finally Faithful God On this Day when We consider The fullness Of life Itself As we Were saying Would you Help us Please to Live our Lives to The full To be Inspired by The kindness Which Sue Has shown Us To be Inspired Above all By your Loving Kindness To us And to Our world Keep us Mindful Of those Around us And keep Us walking Closely With you For the Rest of Our days We pray Amen Amen

[58:41] And if You'd Like to Please Join with Me with The words Of the Lord's Prayer Which can Be found On the Orders Of service And so If you Wish we Pray Together 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 Forever Amen Amen We're Nearing The End Of Our Service But Do Please Stay At The End For A Drink And Some Cake As We Maybe Share Our Own Memories And Stories Of Sue With Each Other We'll Need

[59:41] With The Number Of Us Just A Few Minutes To Turn The Hall Around And Get Some Tables Out So Can I Suggest Perhaps Those In The Hall At That End In Particular If You Are Staying Maybe Do Go Out And Get A Breath Of Fresh Air For Five Minutes And Do Always Come Back In And Grab A Drink In A Few Moments Time In Memory Of Sue There Will Be A Retiring Collection In Aid Of Pathway Project So Cash Donations Can Be Left In The Box Outside Or You Might Like To Give Online Via The Pathway Website As Well Which Is On The Back Of The Orders Of Service Many Thanks Indeed For All The Tributes That We've Heard Today Many Thanks To Phil He's Been Leading Our Song Worship For Mark On The Sound For Marg As Verger And For All Those In The Kitchen And Who Are Behind The Scenes For Helping Today To Run Smoothly It's Time To Sing Our Final Hymn This Really Was A Favorite Of Su's One That We Can Go Out With

[60:41] So Once Again If You're Able Can We Stand Please To Sing I Stand Amazed In The Presence Of Jesus The Nazarene I Stand Amazed In The Presence Of Jesus The Nazarene I Wonder How He Could Love Me A Sinner Contained Unclean Singing How Marvelous How Wonderful And My Song Shall Ever Be How Marvelous How Wonderful Is My Selfless Love For Man He He Took

[61:41] My Sins And My Sorrows He Made Them His Very Own He Pulled The Bowden To Cal Free And Suffered And Died Alone Singing How Marvelous How Wonderful Than My Song Shall Ever Be How Marvelous How Wonderful Is My Saviour's Love For Me When With With The Ransom In Glory His Face At Last Shall See T' Will Be My Joy Through The Ages To Sing Of His Love For Me Singing How

[62:42] Marvelous How Wonderful And My Song Shall Ever Be How Marvelous How Wonderful Is My Saviour's Love For Me Singing How Marvelous How Wonderful And My Song Shall Ever Be How Marvelous How Wonderful Is My Saviour's Love For Me So as we close a final prayer of blessing And so God our Heavenly Father we ask that today the light of your love will shine in the hearts of those who mourn may your strength support the weary may your joy cheer the sorrowful and may your peace calm those who are anxious or worried about the future and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us and all those who God has given us to love both now and always

[64:09] Amen Amen Amen Amen Thank you.