A Celebration of the Life of Stan Johann
July 25, 1926 -May 22, 2023
Saturday, June 24, 2023, 1:00 pm — Trinity United Methodist Church
GATHERING MUSIC: Favorite Melodies; Pauline Olsen and Donna Grubbs
WELCOME: Rev. Desi Larson
THE CALL TO CELEBRATION
Leader: Friends, we have come here together to give thanks to God for Stan Johann and to celebrate his entry into life eternal.
People: We have come to share in the joy that the memories of Stan revive in our hearts, making him real within us.
Leader: We have also come to share our loneliness and sorrow because we love and miss Stan.
People: We have come to affirm our faith, to proclaim that life is more powerful than death, and that faith overcomes all fear.
Leader: And so we rejoice and give thanks.
People: For we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Leader: In the light of resurrection, let us worship God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of our lives.
People: Blessed be the Lord our God, forever!
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN 576: Rise Up, O Men of God, as written (Dedicated to Stan’s support of Promise Keepers)
SCRIPTURE READING: Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-6, 20-26, 50-57
CELEBRATION OF LIFE: Rev. Desi Larson
VISUAL MEMORIES
SHARING
FAMILY REMEMBRANCES
SPECIAL MUSIC: What A Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong
POEM: Read by Mary Johann, Stan’s daughter-in-law, Steve’s wife
In Tune by Florence Steigerwalt
I don’t remember when I first began,
to call you “friend”. One day, I only know,
the vague companionship that I’d seen grow
so imperceptibly, turned gold, and ran
In Tune with all I’d thought, or dared to plan.
Since then, you’ve been to me like music, low,
Yet clear; a fire that throws its warm bright glow
On me on each woman, child, and man,
And common thing that lies within its rays;
You’ve been like wholesome food that stays the cry
Of hungry, groping minds; and like a star-
A self sufficient star-you make me raise
My utmost being to a higher sky,
In Tune, like you, with earth, yet wide, and far.
PRAYER OF COMMENDATION
THE LORD’S PRAYER, UM Hymnal p. 10-11
HYMN 89: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, vs 1, 2, 3
HE BLESSING
Leader: Christ went before us in death, as has our loved one, Stan, showing us the way into eternal life.
People: We give thanks for the good life we have shared with Stan, and rejoice that he fully knows the peace and joy of life eternal.
Leader: God has given, and God has received Stan whom God has loved.
People: We are thankful for all the good days that we shared.
Leader: May God our Creator, Jesus our Companion and Lord, and the Holy Spirit our Sustainer fortify in us every good deed and word.
People: May the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us now and always. Amen.
POSTLUDE: In The Mood, By Glenn Miller; Pauline Olsen