Woodley Funeral Home Karen Keith Funeral

our gathering song Today is the hymn How Great Thou Art it's printed on uh sheet that was handed out with the folder you arrived for worship today would you please stand [Music] oh my God I [Music] awesome I see [Music] then sings my soul my savior to great great [Music] and s my [Music] the [Music] and take me home heart [Music] please be seated would you please turn to the folder you also received as you enter the Gathering space service is printed in its entirety for you and congregational responses are in bold tight in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit welcome in the name of Jesus the savior of the world we are gathered to worship to Proclaim Christ crucified and Ren to remember our sister Karen to give thanks for her life to commend her to our merciful Redeemer and to comfort one another in our grief Karen K Keith was born on January 2nd 1942 the daughter of Roy and Eva sh she was United in marriage with her high school sweetheart Edward Keith on May 3rd 1964 at the Presbyterian Church in greed she farmed with her husband and operated a hair shop in rural marble Ru for over 30 years Karen was an animal lover and took care of many Strays over the years with Edward she went on many fishing trips to Canada and they made sure to attend all their grandchildren's school and sporting events living family members include her children Brian Keith and his wife Angela of marble rock DNE Landers and her husband Barry of green grandchildren Tyler Keith Dylan Keith Gabriel Keith Josie Landers mallerie Landers in-laws Judy Schnack and her husband Charles and David keys and his wife Linda Karen is preceded in death by her husband Edward and her parents pray that fond memories of Karen will be a source of comfort and continue to be a blessing to us in these days Ahad at the bottom of page one all who are baptized into Christ have put on Christ in her baptism Karen was clothed with Christ in the day of Christ coming she shall be clothed with Glory Eternal God maker of heaven and Earth who formed us from the dust of the earth who by your breath gave us life we glorify you Jesus Christ the resurrection and the life who suffered death for all Humanity Who Rose from the grave to open the way to eternal life we praise you Holy Spirit author and Giver of Life the comforter of all who sorrow our sure confidence and everlasting hope we you the bless Trinity be to you oh Blessed Trinity be glory and honor forever and ever amen the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all also and let us pray God of Grace and Glory we remember before you today our sister Karen we thank you for giving her to us to know and to love as a companion in our pilgrimage on Earth in your boundless compassion console us who mour give us Faith to see that death has been swallowed up in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we may live in confidence and hope until by your call we are gathered to our Heavenly Home in the company of all your Saints through Jesus Christ Our Savior and Lord amen the first reading is recorded in the first chapter of Genesis I'm sorry the second chapter in that day the Lord God made the heavens and the earth when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth and there was no one to tell the ground but a stream would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the ground then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and to his nostrils the breath of life and the Man became a living being the Lord God planted the Garden in Eden in the East and there he put the man whom he had [Music] formed when the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to till it and keep it the Lord commanded the man you may fre to eat of every tree of the garden but of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall die then the Lord God said it is not good that the man should be alone I will make him a helper as his partner so out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them whatever the man called every living creature that was its name the man gave names to all cattle to the birds of the air and to every animal of the field for man there was not found a helper as his partner so the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and he slept then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh and the rib that the man had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man then the man said this at last is bone of my bones and Flesh of My Flesh this one shall be called woman for out of man this one was taken God Word of Life PSAL is Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he makes me lie down in Green Pastures he leads me beside Still Waters he restores my soul he leads me in right paths for his name's sake yet even though I walk through the darkest Valley I fear no evil for you are with me your R and staff they comfort me you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup overflows surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life L second reading is from the 18th chapter of the Prophet Jeremiah the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord come go down to The Potter's House and there I will let you hear my words so I went down to The Potter's House and there he was working at his wheel The Vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in The Potter's hand and he reworked it into another vessel as it seemed good to him then the word of the Lord came to me can I not do with you oh House of Israel just as this Potter has says the Lord just like the clay in The Potter's hand so are you in my hand oh House of Israel word of God Word of Life The Holy Gospel According to St John the 12th chapter for those who are able please stand now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks they came to Philip who was from B in Galilee and said to him sir we wish to see Jesus Philip went and told Andrew then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus Jesus answered them the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified very truly I tell you unless a grain of wheat falls into the Earth and dies it remains just a single grain but if it dies it Bears much fruit those who love their life lose it and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life whoever serves me must follow me and where I am there will my servant be also whoever serves me the father will honor the gospel of the Lord please be seated [Music] are is jesuses juses [Music] will beside me [Music] will take [Music] meus Jesus L Jesus [Music] graise to and peace from God our Father and from his son our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ amen As We Gather to celebrate the the life of Kieran and here God's response to this part of life that comes to every one of us I allowed Karen to sort of direct me to scriptures to consider for the morning I was introduced to Karen as a person who was fond of animals had compassion for stray animals that happened to wander by her home and into her life enjoyed the animals and a person who enjoyed being outdoors and enjoyed being out on the River fishing um spending time with Edward so the passages um perhaps unusual for the occasion of a funeral but yet I think Karen's life points to the the power of these passages in Genesis is talking about the beginning before the and and so God takes this clay and shapes the clay into a human form and breath into this human form Divine Breath of Life and the first human being is and God named him Edward and then God realizes that Edward was without a companion and so God creates all the animals and and the the the human is is given permission to name the animals so we can Envision Edward naming cat or dog or pig or cow as all of these animals are created to be companions and God looks at the work that God has done and realizes that even though the man is now surrounded by animals that there's not just the right companion for Edward and so God takes a rib and from the rib of from Edward's rib he forms a woman he forms cure and God puts them together and it's just right the story of creation is a story of how we as people come to be but it's also a story that tells us about God being a god of Life a God who gives life and a God who creates us and intends for us to to enjoy life and the beauty of life God created K breathed into her God's Divine Gift of Life and we knew her as neighbor as mother as grandma as friend of animals um Edward knew her as father the Genesis tells us that that God creates life that the life God creates it's good and we celebrate the goodness of life that we knew in care of she wore many hats for us some of us may have been in her beauty shop having our hair taken care of some of us would have her as a neighbor or enjoyed playing with pets at at her home God created life God created car and God declared the life that God had that had been made good for all of the goodness of life God has also created us bread and the years take their toll the passage from Jeremiah is a a passage that's it's the parable of the the Potter at potter's wheel and and it's describing God's work and molding people were created good were Earth and vessels filled with life of God but because the years take their toll we sort of become cracked pots broken pots and the life leaks out but the vision of Jeremiah is that God is a Potter God is at The Potter's Wheel making a vessel the the passage came to life for me when I was at the living history in De Mo and at that time they had a working Potter at one of their Farms not been there in a while so I don't know what the living history Farm is like these days but it was fascinating to watch the Potter because the Potter reached off to her side and cut off a chunk of clay and then dump the clay in a bucket of water so the clay was was dripping wet and and then the Potter took the CL clay and slammed it on her wooden Potter wheel and she slammed it again and again and again and worked it and finally when it was finally worked into a smooth round ball she set it at the center of her her Po's wheel and started the wheel spinning and as the wheel then her hands were on that ball of clay shaping it into a a vessel into a bowl I was fascinated it looked perfect when the Wheels stopped she used a a wire to P to to separate the the bow from from the wooden wheel and she held it up and looked at it and much to my horror there there was apparently something wrong with it and so she took it and squashed it back into a a ball dumped it in the water and started reworking it to work out all the air bubbles and smooth it into a ball and again shaped it into a bowl The Vessel had something wrong with it I couldn't see it I'm not an artist but as Potter she could see it and so she took that damage B and and reshaped it Kieran is for out of the ground shaped into a precious human shaped into a mother and a neighbor a spouse a grandma and as we to life the precious life that we've given is damaged and finally when we use up the moments of Our Lives completely broken the beauty of the the the parable of the Potter wheel is that God is a God who takes us in our Brokenness and reshapes us into life so that as we come together today and we see death and we see Brokenness the promise of God is that Kieran is in God's hands and that God is a god of Life who will reshape her into eternal life K lived on a farm um and and so the the passage talking about planting we're here here in Iowa we're we're aware of Agriculture the springtime comes and farmers are biting it the bit to get out into the fields they might be noticing the water temper or the the soil temperature or they might be noticing the moist moisture and and they thought about the the type of soil that's in their fields and they purchase just the right hybrid of seeds costly seeds and when the time is right they take those expensive seeds and place them in an earth T and once the seeds are in the earth those precious seeds are warm and the moisture works at the Shell of the Sea and the seed literally needs to die and be broken in order for your life to Spring forth then in God's hands death is even a source and a place of life so we see death today but in God's hands this Brokenness is exactly the material that God will use to raise Ken up to a new life A Life That's not shadowed by illness that's not Shattered by grief a life that that's not Shattered by the many concerns of life that that can spoil the joy of living that God is a God who gave Kieran life who gives her new life in Jesus and even today will stand by her place of burial called to her Karen come out just as Jesus once called Lazarus to come out of the Tom this is the god who created k a God who makes life a God who loves us sometimes In Spite of Ourselves and The God Who is there when we are most fragile and most broken to hold us safe in Grace and to raise us to New Life amen we are at the top of Page Three in the worship F God has made us his people through our baptism into Christ Christ living together in trust and hope we confess our faith I believe in god father almighty creator of Heaven and Earth I believe in Jesus Christ God's only son our Lord who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary suffered under pontious pilot was crucified died he descended to the de on the third day he again he ascended into he seated at the right of father and will come again to judge the living I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Catholic Church the communion of saints the Forgiveness of s the resurrection of the body and the life Everlasting amen let us pray God of life you created Ken and entrusted her to us for a time that seems too short help us now to release her to your Mighty keeping Lord in your mercy Ouray we thank you for the ways that Karen has touched Our Lives as family as friend as neighbor as a sister in Christ may we follow in her example of faithful Living Lord in your mercy our pray almighty God source of all mercy and Giver of comfort deal graciously with us as we grieve that we might cast our sorrow on you and that we may know the consolation of Your Love send your spirit now to comfort us these days in these days of need and loss Lord in your mercy our pray give us courage and faith that we may be strengthened to meet the days ahead in the comfort of a holy and certain hope and in the joyful expectation of eternal life with our loved ones Lord in your mercy our pray grant us Grace to entrust heren to your never failing love which sustained her in this life receive her into the arms of your mercy and remember her according to the favor you bear for your people Lord in your mercy Ouray God of all Grace you sent your son Our Savior Jesus Christ to bring life and immortality to life we give you thanks because by his death Jesus destroyed the our death and by his resurrection has opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers make us certain that because he lives we shall live also and that neither death nor life nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us from the love which is in Christ Jesus our lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God now and forever amen gathered into one by the Holy Spirit we pray as Jesus t Our Father who in heaven beom will be on Earth as it in our daily and for us our Tres as for those Tres against us us not temp usom and Glory into your hands oh Merciful Savior we your servant acknowledge we humbly ask you a sheep of your own CL a lamb of your own flock a of your redem receive her into the arms of your Merc into the Blessed rest of everlasting and the glor of sa but we go forth in the Name of Christ Our sending song is Amazing Grace printed on the song sheet [Music] my heart to and myars [Music] I the GL good to his word [Music] my for [Music] [Music] [Music]