Loading...The service began at 11 a.m. with a procession of Episcopal priests and deacons who came from as far away as Paducah, at the western end of the Diocese of Kentucky. They were invited by one of the girls' grandmothers, the Rev. Dr. Eva Markham, who is a deacon at Resurrection Church, because, as the Rev. Ben Maas said in his sermon, "the girls loved going to church" and "would long for the day when they would be old enough to wear the flowing robes."
Maas, rector at St. Andrew's, delivered the sermon, beginning with an explanation of Episcopal practice of using the liturgical colors of Easter white for the service. He said it is a reminder that "we are an Easter people," loved by God beyond anything we imagine and "not even death can separate us from the love of God." Maas acknowledged that it did not seem like Easter, that all still may seem dark and may have left us reeling with sorrow, and he observed, "Although by all accounts Claudia and Riley packed a tremendous amount of life into those four or five years of life, there was a lot of living left to be done. But that all-too-short span, where their lives and ours met, was a gift." Celebrating the girls' lives, he noted they had the "summer of all summers" and "reveled in sharing so much of it together." After recalling many instances of their adventures together and their dreams, he said the girls "showed us what it is to truly be alive, celebrating the joy of life." He also noted about them, "In the brief moments I spent with these girls, I saw little reflections of God's goodness, God's joy and God's light."
Speaking to the family, Maas told them that "all of us will continue to ache with you in your sorrow, but all the tears spilled from the people gathered here are but a drop of the sorrow God holds for you. Know this--you are God's beloved."
Before concluding, Maas told those gathered that he had a "favor to ask of all of you," one he said may be difficult and "even incomprehensible. Please pray for Kenielle Finch and his mother Denise Finch, who is also trying to make sense of all this. I ask this favor as much for the Finch family as I do for all of you. Make more room in your heart. Don't let your anger grow, don't let it poison you. Our story, our Holy week story, is about God's love and the power of that love not just to give new life, but to forgive, to reconcile and to redeem."
The service at St. Andrew's, where Claudia was a member, and burial, which followed at Cave Hill Cemetery, reflected the close ties that Claudia and Riley and their families have with two other Louisville parishes. Celebrating the Eucharist was the Rev. Dr. Tim Mitchell, rector of Advent, where another of Claudia's grandmothers, Kim Wadlington, is a member. The Rev. Dr. Jerry Cappel, rector of Resurrection Church, where Riley was a member, was the litanist who read the Prayers of the People. In addition, the service's anthem was composed by Tom Bailey, Resurrection's music director, and at the cemetery an ensemble of Resurrection's Sudanese members sang, accompanied by drummers, a traditional hymn in Dinka.
Click on the link to download a copy of the full sermon.
