[Magdalen] Interesting Funeral

[Jim Guthrie]

Albert and I went the the funeral of Our friend Dan Levins in Brooklyn Friday. 
It was held at our former parish, Christ Church Bay Ridge with interment at 
Resurrection Cemetery on Staten Island.

Dan was a Dancer -- formerly with American Ballet Theater (some of his 
performances  from the 1970s are on YouTube); in later years he taught dance in 
Manhattan. But in one of those quintessential New York City "Odd Couple" his 
partner for 20 years (and married for four years) was formerly a NYC Firemen, 
Gene had a stroke about 10 years ago and has been in a wheelchair since.

The funeral was a great NYC mix of people -- a few from the parish, but lots of 
Dancers, ex Dancers, Ballerinas and retired ballerinas, but also a phalanx of NY 
Police and Firemen, complete with a bagpiper from the Emerald Society. Genes 
brothers and relatives were all there (as were Dan); the four brothers are 
firefighters or cops -- a traditional NYC Irish family, though no priest AFAIK.

Dan has specified some aspects -- he wanted lots of incense. And by the vagaries 
of work schedules and the like, we ended up with a Lutheran Pastor as Thurifer 
(is Lutheran Thurifer an oxymoron?).

The casket was open at the the beginning of the service, as the wake had been in 
the church.

The Casket was well censed, at the beginning -- but later when it was time to 
close the casket (after the sermon), it was censed again, and per Dan's 
Instruction, there was plenty of smoke directed into the casket as it was 
closed. Never saw that before!

Albert and I rode out to the cemetery with the Pastor/Thurifer (we've known him 
for years), with Albert holding the thurible (keeping the coal lit).

During the interment, the casket was well-censed again, but then another incense 
innovation (per Dan;swishes), Pastor Miller lowered the thurible into the hole 
under the bier and censed it thoroughly enough that smoke was coming out the 
other sides from underneath.

I'm considering revising my funeral instructions.

Prayers for Dan and especially for Gene who will have a difficult time ahead.

Jim Guthrie

Cheers,
Jim

"The enemy isn’t liberalism;
the enemy isn’t conservatism.
The enemy, is baloney." - Lars Erik Nelson