[Magdalen] Interesting Funeral

[Joseph Cirou]

Among the Slavic Byzantines, it is traditional  to pour the coals of the thurible into the grave  (should have said kadilo)

Joe

-----Original Message-----
>From: Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com>
>Sent: Sep 20, 2015 8:20 PM
>To: "magdalen at herberthouse.org" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
>Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Interesting Funeral
>
>Sounds like quite a wonderful funeral, if such can be said of one. Prayers
>for Dan's repose, and for Gene and all who loved Dan and love Gene.
>
>On Sun, Sep 20, 2015 at 3:53 PM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com> wrote:
>
>> 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
>>