Prelude - Chris Bowman

Call to Worship:  "Enter His Gates" choir

Words of welcome and  explanation Pastor Bussell

Scripture readings on "faithfulness" 

1. Psalm 36:5-10 
2. Psalm 92:1-5, 12-15 
3. Lamentations 3:22-26 

Hymn 43   "Great is Thy Faithfulness" (immediately after) choir on verse 1, all
Text: Thomas O. Chisholm,  Music: William M. Runyan (1923)   verses 2 & 3

Words of Remembrance of Marianne’s life - the Rev. Mark Walvoord

Anthem "All Things Bright and Beautiful" - choir with Paul Sundberg 
Text: Cecil F. Alexander, Music: John Rutter

Scripture reading:  Hebrews 11:1, 8-10, 13-16

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 

By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tent, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 

All these people were still livng by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

Responsive reading:  Hebrews 12:1-2, Revelations 21:3-4

Leader: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
People:  let us throw off everything  that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
All:  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 
Leader: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of  our faith,
People: who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame,
All: And sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Leader: I heard a voice from the throne saying,
People: "Now the dwelling of God is with  humankind, and he will live with them.
Leader: They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
People: He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Leader: There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain,
All: For the old order of things has passed away.

466 "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" (vs. 1 & 4)
Text: Charles Wesley, Music: Joseph Parry (tune: Aberystwyth)

44  "Children of the Heavenly Father" (vs. 1, 3,5)
Text: Carolina Sandell Berg, Music: Swedish folk tune

461 "All the Way my Savior Leads Me" (vs. 1 & 3)
Text: Robert Robinson, Music: traditional tune "Nettleton" 

494 "Like a River Glorious" (vs. 1 & 3) 
Text: Frances Ridley Havergal, Music: James Mountain 

The Lord’s Prayer (sung) - all

Benediction - Pastor Bussell

Book of Common Prayer Nunc Dimittis  choir with Paul Sundberg, piano
"Lord, You now have set your servant free" 
Text: Luke 2:29-32,  Music: Paul Sundberg

Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace, as you have promised.
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior
whom you have prepared for all the world to see,
A light to enlighten the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

You are invited to participate in a lunch reception out on the patio immediately following the service.  For those who wish to do so, an opportunity to view the body will be provided in the library following the service. 

In lieu of flowers, the Sundberg family prefers that a donation be made in Marianne’s name to the Nehemiah Fund at El Montecito Presbyterian Church or to the Deacons’ Fund, a very practical  ministry of Christian compassion that Marianne had the privilege of  experiencing.
 
 

Marianne Walvoord Sundberg, as might be gathered from this service, was passionate both about choral music (participating herself in church choirs for over 50 years, not least in the choir at El Montecito Pres!) and about good hymn texts.   Great Christian hymns, she came to discover, brought together two personal strengths in herself: her sharp mind and love of study, reflection and solid Scriptural hermeneutics - and her natural ear for music.  Hymnology was no ivory-tower hobby divorced from reality, however.  When she entered the cramped cacophony of an MRI machine or was wheeled into an operation, or fought cancer pain in her bed in the middle of the night, it was hymns (sung inwardly) that calmed her and kept her sanity.  And she used the hymn texts in daily devotions. Her last words, following Pastor Bussell’s prayer thanking God for her life, were "Amen".  Life as a hymn.

If Mom were here physically this morning, she would insist that her service include a rich array of Scripture readings, as well as sound, edifying theology to explain what the basis of her life had been since her decision in High School to become a disciple of Christ - what Christian "hope" is in contrast to secular hopelessness in the face of death. And good Bible teacher and missionary that she was, she would hope that those attending her funeral not only are comforted in their grief (she was a nurse and woman of unusual compassion), but exhorted to return to their lives from today’s service with renewed faith and resolve:  " … let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."  (Hebrews 12:1)

The seemingly quirky insertion into her funeral service of the children’s hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful" also deserves explanation.  You might expect a Dutch-American, raised in a Calvinistic environment, steeped in Reformed theology, a student of hymn history, to be a dour and life-denying person.  But one quality of hers that people often commented on was her joy.  And love of beauty and color. In one of her devotional books we found this  quotation written in her own hand: "Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of Christ."  It was this unusual mix of joy, compassion, and passion for integrity and truth - in herself as well as others - that was the most Christ-like thing about this otherwise very human, fallible woman.  "Goodness" in the best sense.  We think she would have approved of the service!

 AMEN