Sample Funeral Service to Mixed Audience

Professor Reyenga conducted this funeral service to a mixed audience at the Spring Lake Country Club. John Krass had recently become a Christian. Many in his family were Christians, many not. The Audience was mixed. The family gathered to give input to the service. You will notice Christian and secular elements in the service. 

The Funeral of John Cletus Krass III
August 25, 2022

Opening:  Angel of Montgomery Recording of John Krass

We gather today to remember our  John - He experienced life as a husband to Julie and father to Liam and Crosby. We read from his obituary, beautifully written by Julie his wife. I quote:

Reading of the Obituary:

John Cletus Krass III left a legacy as he entered the kingdom of heaven on August 20, 2022 after suffering from a ruptured aneurysm that prematurely ended his life at the age of 47, just days shy of what would have been his 48th birthday.
John was born on August 24, 1974 in Grand Haven, Michigan to Charlene Renee Krass and John Jack Cletus Krass Jr. He grew up loving Jesus and attending Christ Community Church. Those who knew John intimately, were privy to the fact that he had an unfailing faith in God. All who loved John can have peace knowing that he is now home in heaven with our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…

John and Julie loved their favorite bands, such as the Grateful Dead and Phish. 

"Broken Down Palace" - Grateful Dead sang these words.

Fare you well, my honey
Fare you well, my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Have flown except you alone

Going to leave this broke-down palace
On my hands and my knees I will roll, roll, roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll

In a bed, in a bed
By the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul 

Play Broken Down Palace

In times like these, we grieve intensely.

Where do we go with our sadness of losing John?

The psalmist asked God for help.

Psalms 61:1-2

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.  From the ends of the earth, I call to you; I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Today we look for that higher rock; we look for healing from heaven. Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.    

Let's pray:

Lord, we cry to you. We wonder why you took John home at a younger age, missed by so many, including his two sons, who will miss him terribly. We submit to your will and know that you see everything from a higher rock than we see.

Help us as we grieve John to see glimpses of a higher plan. We are grateful that you have gone through death to life for us through your death and resurrection.  In John 11, we read how Martha was grieving the death of Lazarus. You said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

Death is defeated, and John now lives with you. Comfort us as we look forward to seeing John again someday.

We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Scriptures - We take comfort in some rocks of hope found in the scriptures.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

John 14:1-3

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:35, 37- 39

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus Loves Me Segment

John Krass was a person of faith; he prayed. He asked me for prayer. Recently, he shared his faith with me under the tree on hole six as we were waiting for the group ahead.

He knew that Jesus loved him. He kept that faith as his mother sang over him as he started his march to the other side in the hospital last week.

Let's sit back and listen or sing along to Rebe McEntire sing "Jesus Loves Me."

Play Rebe McEntire's "Jesus Loves Me."

Message: Grace Adventure

Introduction

John Krass loved music and today's music reflects some of his songs and intimate beliefs. In death, he met his savior.

John loved people, and he was well loved. John loved Julie. John loved his sons, Liam and Crosby. John loved his family. His mother, Char, and her sister, Carrie, stepped up again to show why John loved them. I met them many times at the hospital last week as they kept vigil. John loved his childhood friends like Tim Kurtis and Jeremy Fitch, who came to the hospital last week to support Johnny. I met them both.

John loved his work and thirty-one-year partnership with Kevin and Heloise Kihnke, Alek, Ian, Torrey, and the Magnum family. As Julie wrote,

After graduating from Grand Haven High School in 1992, John went on to study at Michigan State University for two years and transferred to Grand Valley State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1996. His newly acquired degree and his larger-than-life personality caught the attention of Kevin Kihnke, owner of Magnum Coffee Roastery. During the next quarter of a century, John helped create and lead the Gourmet and Cafe division of the company.

Julie wrote a beautiful obituary.

The Game of Golf Held a Special Place in John’s Life

John loved golf and his association with the Spring Lake Country Club. It was more than being great at golf; he loved the relationships. Golf is a game with relationship opportunities. John enjoyed the father-like mentorship of Craig Vande Linde, his league partner of 16 years. He appreciated his golf brothers, Ray Davis, Al Bernstein, and many more.

Each of us has a Johnny story, from those who battled with him at golf tournaments to playing golf matches with him. He loved to share random but extremely interesting photos or links. I first learn about Honey Badgers from Johnny. I do not know if you know this, but "Honey Badgers don't care." 

He was honest, and you knew where you stood with him.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 is a Bible passage about finishing the course. 

The author, the Apostle Paul, is near his death and martyrdom as he writes, he says,

I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

John played his beloved course for the last round of golf with three friends, Al Bernstein, Steve Annese, and Kevin Kihnke, on Sunday, the 14th of August. He played great golf with his golf match partner Kevin. Who would have guessed that he would be fighting for his life the next day as a brain aneurysm ruptured that took him from us?

The Game of Golf Parallels Our Lives in many Ways

Golf is a game that has a lot of parallels to life. Life is hard. Golf is hard. In life, it is easy to mess up at times. No one is perfect. It's easy to mess up in golf. How often does your ball end up in the rough or out of bounds? For some of us, more often than for others.

Since golf is so hard, they have invented a handicap system. To keep golf fun and competitive among all the players with different abilities, they have a handicap system named the GHIN index. This means that the better players give "grace" to the players with differing skills. It is as if bad shots are forgiven. This makes golf a “grace adventure.”

Take me, for instance. My handicap is 9.7. That means, in competition, I will usually fail on roughly ten shots every time I play in the competition.  John's last recorded handicap was 10.5. John and I needed similar bad shot grace. 

As we reflect on John's life, we see his life through the eyes of grace too. Whether in golf or life, we are on a grace adventure. God granted us a win when He died on the cross to forgive our sins. God sees that we are broken people who need grace and forgiveness. 

Psalms 103:14

for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Paul wrote that our lives are lived in jars of clay.

2 Corinthians 4:7  

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

In life, John was a 10.5 also. Some might debate whether that was too high or too low.

In the last week, I have heard many stories of how he hit the ball down the middle as a father. Last week Thursday night, at the SLCC fire pit, many stories were shared. Yes. Sometimes he stumbled on the rocks, meaning he hit the ball out of bounds. His story is all of our stories. We are all imperfect. We all can do better!

God saw John and He sees us through the eyes of grace.

Romans 5:8 says,

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

As Julie wrote in his obituary, He is with the Lord now, in the Kingdom of Heaven! His salvation was not based on some perfect life he lived but on the handicap of grace he received from the Rock that is higher than all of us.

What are three takeaways as we reflect on John's life?

1. He loved us well and inspired us to love well. We will miss him.
2. He never claimed to be perfect but was made perfect by God's grace. Like the Apostle Paul, John kept the faith.
3. May we love well, and may we live in grace. May we give grace more!

We will miss John. Handicap 10.5.

We will miss his humor. We will miss his kidding around. We will miss his friendship. We will miss his loud moments and his tender expressions.  We will also miss those random texts of links about things like honey badgers and beavers. We will miss going to music concerts, golf trips, pubs, and church with him. We will not forget his hospitality and inclusion. We will not forget his likable way about him.

He is with the Lord. He has received the crown of righteousness.

Golf is an 18-hole game. But sometimes, you only get to play nine holes.

At age 47, he only got to play nine holes of life. He did not get to play the back nine. He is finished playing his course. He begins a new course, where wretches and saints play together, covered by the same amazing grace.

We do not know how many holes we will be allowed to play as we finish the course of life we are on. Let us continue to make each shot. Ah, to see Johhny again...He is checking out the courses awaiting us. He continues his amazing grace adventure in heaven.

Listen to Amazing Grace by Phish

Let us pray.

Lord, we grieve, but we grieve in hope. We ask that you sustain Liam and Crosby, Julie, the Magnum family, and those whose lives will never be the same after this loss of John. Grant them your presence in the night of grief and bring them to a morning of new songs and hope. Help us never to forget this man, and may his legacy live in us!

Committal Service

We gather here to commit the body of John Cletus Krass III to the grave. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. We commit his body to the ground and take comfort that his soul is with God in heaven.

A graveside is a daunting place. We say to you, God, from Psalms 73:24, words that John's soul is living out. 

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God, you are  the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

2 Corinthians 4:18   

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44     

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;  it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

Let us pray.

Lord, we commit John's body to the grave, as a seed. He is with you. Help us Lord in the days ahead to heal and cherish the memory of John. We conclude praying together, the Lord's prayer.

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.