Alternative Eulogy
for Possible Use in Conjunction with
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Funerals and Memorials.

I am _____________________   ____________________ 
                                                                Name                                                                                                                           Title
with the Son of Union Veterans of the Civil War

I recently was reading a publication called Our Daily Bread.  I found some verses that I would like to share, that were a comfort, as far as trying to understand what _______________________________ was going through.
                                                                Name                                                                                       

When people are struggling with a serious illness quite often, you will hear them say that, 

“They Are Ready for God to Take Them Home.”

(1) Joseph Parker was a beloved English preacher.  When his wife died, he didn't have the customary wording inscribed on her gravestone.  Instead of the word died followed by the date of her death, he chose the word ascended.

Parker found great comfort in being reminded that though his wife's body had been placed in the grave.  The "real" Mrs. Parker had been transported to heaven, and into the presence of her Savior.

When a believing loved one dies, or when we ourselves face the process of dying, there is great comfort in the fact that, “To be absent from the body” is “To be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Death for those that believe is not a dark journey into the unknown.  It is not a lonely walk into a strange and friendless place.  But rather, it is a glorious transition from the trials of this earth, into the joys of heaven, where we will be reunited with our loved ones in Christ, who have gone before us.

Best of all, we will enjoy the presence of our Lord forever.  
Yes, when a believer dies, the body is buried but not the soul; because the soul has Ascended!

(2) It reminds me of the following beautiful description, of the passing of a loved one, by the American author, educator, and clergyman, Henry Van Dyke (1852 - 1933):

(3) “I am standing at the seashore.  A ship at my side spreads its white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.

I stand and watch it until, at length, it hangs like a speck of white cloud, just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.  And, just at that moment, someone at my side says: ‘There, it is gone.’

On a distant shore: 
There are other eyes watching for the ships coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: ‘Here It Comes!
‘And that is dying.’ ”

Even more comforting for the loved ones of a believer who dies, are the words of the apostle Paul from 2 Cor. 5:1: 
“If our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed.  We have a building from God, a house not made with hands.  Eternal in the heavens.  We can rejoice in our sorrow, knowing our departed loved ones are now present with the Lord (v.8).”

_________________________________ has boarded that
                                                                Name                                                                                       
ship, and it has set sail.  And, even though we will soon lose sight of the ships white sail, we can rest assured that all of his family, friends, and relatives that have gone before him are on that distant shore watching for the sail, and gladly shouting,

I see it, “Here He comes.”

Excerpts:
1)	June 14, 2004 – Our Daily Bread - “Ascended” - Richard DeHaan
2)	April 24, 2008 - Our Daily Bread – “A Sailing Ship” - Anne Cetas
3)	“A Parable of Immortality “– Henry VanDyke, (1852-1933)