In Honor of Laura

 Sermon

Memorial Service for Laura Coppernoll, October 4, 2021

Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity, North Augusta

The Reverend Rob Hartley, Preacher 

I am honored to offer some words today as we celebrate Laura and honor God who has gathered Laura to Himself. 

To Phillip and the family, on behalf of all of us here at Holy Trinity, and everyone present, know that our love, prayer, and condolences go out to you.  Prayers from us have been unceasing all during Laura’s struggle with this terrible disease, and those prayers will continue. 

Laura has been a faithful and giving servant of our Lord over all the years I have known her.  I will always admire her zeal for the Lord, her devotion to her family, her ministries both among us here at Holy Trinty and out in the community, particularly her work with Life Choices Pregnancy Center in Aiken, and of course for her passion for caring for God’s creatures.  It is surely appropriate that today is the Feast Day of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals.  I think that is a God thing!

Times like this can become an unreal blur.  Grief can do that to us.  But today we stop and celebrate the great reality of what has taken place, and that is Laura is now united in a perfected and healed way with the God who created her.  Laura was faithful to her promises to God, but God has also been faithful to his promises to Laura.  Hear one of God’s promises to Laura in Romans 6:5, “… if we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”  

So, today is Laura’s resurrection party, her own Easter celebration, Easter being all about resurrection to new life with God.   The words and the tone of the service today reflect this… What we celebrate is that death does not have the final say in Laura’s life, God does.   Alleluia.

Our Romans 8 reading today says we who are in Christ are Children of God, and if children, then heirs; that is, heirs of the Kingdom of God.   To be heirs of the Kingdom of God means we have a place at God’s table forever.  Table fellowship is a powerful image used and ordained by Christ at the Last Supper and is an image of the fellowship we will all have with God for eternity.   

Laura has now taken her place at this great Banquet Table of our Lord.  In just a moment, we ourselves will participate in a foreshadowing of that great reality as we also commune at this Lord’s Table behind me.  All baptized members of God’s Holy Church, regardless of denomination, are invited to come forward with Phillip and the family and commune with God.  Even if you aren’t sure where you stand with the Lord and perhaps would rather not take Communion, please come forward with the family anyway- just cross your arms over your chest and you will receive words of blessing from Fr. Ross. 

As our liturgy today says, “All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”   

May this wonderful family move forward from here in the blessing and power of God’s Holy Spirit…  in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen                           

The Rev. Rob Hartley, Oct. 4, 2021