[Magdalen] Marcy's Funeral

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

I bet the Ashokan was just right!  I can imagine it on cello.

Peace eternal....

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Wed, May 25, 2016 at 12:37 PM, James Handsfield <jhandsfield at att.net>
wrote:

> It was good to have all of you there - thank you for coming.
>
> I have to say it was a wonderful service - Marcy planned it when we
> planned both of our funerals.  It was difficult but I felt peace afterward,
> not in small part to having your spiritual presence with us.
>
> Marcy chose her music well, although I did get to choose two pieces - the
> opening voluntary (Meditation from Thaïs by Massenet and An Ashokan
> Farewell by Jay Ungar played on the cello).  I’ll post the order of service
> in a little while.
>
> -------------------------------------
> Education is its own reward, both for the individual and for society.
>
> Jim Handsfield
> jhandsfield at att.net
>
> > On May 25, 2016, at 2:51 AM, Joseph Cirou <romanos at mindspring.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Bob and I sat together for Marcy's funeral. Cindy Smith also attended. I
> got to talk to Jim before and after the service. He seems to be holding up
> well.
> >
> > Marcy planned the liturgy which had many fine hymns. The organist did
> improvisations on other hymns which I imagine Marcy  had suggested. There
> was a piano prelude on the Meditation from  Thais and a cello solo after
> Communion.
> >
> > Matthew and Nina spoke. Nina was Marcy's prayer partner for over 21
> years every Tuesday. I imagine they planned the funeral to take place on a
> Tuesday. The burial was in the church ground. Several folks took turns
> shoveling dirt on the grave which was just large enough for the urn. The
> rector gave the homily. The celebrant was the head of the St. Julian of
> Norwich Guild. The only clergy person I knew among the officiants was the
> Spanish deacon who had ministered at Christ Church when I subbed a few
> years ago.
> >
> > It was a beautiful service and a comforting afternoon. It was only a few
> hours so I returned to work early. St Bede's is only 15 minutes from my
> house and it was about the same distance to the IRS.
> >
> > We will remember Marcy at our next liturgy. The Rite of Commendation is
> very similar to our short Panikhida or Trisagion Service.  We have a
> beautiful melody for the KOntakion that appears in the English Hymnal. Our
> melodies at St John's are quite different from the Slavic but they have the
> same mood.
>
>