Lord God,

Without those before us,

Without our mothers and fathers in faith,

We would not know you.

We remember our parents and our parents in faith.

God of Zechariah and Elizabeth,

God of Mary and Joseph,

God of John the Baptist,

God of the angels Gabriel and Michael,

God of Ambrose and Augustine,

God of all martyrs and the suffering church.

Be with us.

God of Martin Luther and Johann Sebastian Bach,

God of Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley,

God of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King,

God of Desmond Tutu and Mother Theresa,

God of all Christians who have witnessed to your love in our time:

Be with us.

Heavenly Father, all who have died in Christ are in your presence.

We thank you for those who have completed the race that was set before them,

and we thank you for sustaining their faith throughout their lives.

We thank you also for the blessings that flowed to us from their lives.

Be with all who mourn their passing.

Comfort them in their sorrow.

God of comfort, we also thank you for…

[Name Cards]

God our Father, throughout the history of the church, you have stood by all your saints. Stay with us this day and every day, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified, dead, risen, ascended, living and reigning with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.