RONALD WILSON REAGAN - Fortieth President of the United States 1911-2004 (Text Only)

RONALD WILSON REAGAN - Fortieth President of the United States 1911-2004
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL
Washington National Cathedral
11 June 2004 at 11:30 am

Celebrant

The Reverend John C. Danforth

Participants

The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane
Bishop of Washington and Dean of the Cathedral

The Right Reverend A. Theodore Eastman
Vicar, Washington National Cathedral

His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick
Catholic Archbishop of Washington

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios
Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America

Imam Mohammad Magid Ali
Imam and Director of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society

Readers

Rabbi Harold Kushner
The Honorable Sandra Day O.Connor

Tributes

The President of the United States
President George H. W. Bush
The Right Honourable the Baroness Thatcher, L.G., O.M., F.R.S
The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney

ORDER OF SERVICE RECEPTION OF THE BODY

The People stand as the procession enters.

The Celebrant is led to the center of the rood screen landing; all others to their seats.

When at about the mid-nave cross-aisle, the Celebrant begins

ANTHEMS IN PROCESSION, MR. DANFORTH

I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord;
he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live;
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die.

I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day
upon the earth;
and though this body be destroyed,
yet shall I see God;
whom I shall see for myself
and mine eyes shall behold,
and not as a stranger.

For none of us liveth to himself,
and no man dieth to himself.
For if we live, we live unto the Lord;
and if we die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord;
even so saith the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.

When he has reached the rood screen landing,
the Celebrant faces the congregation.
When the casket is in position, and the bearers have departed,
the Celebrant says

Let us pray.

COLLECT FOR BURIAL

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered:
Accept our prayers on behalf of thy servant Ronald, and grant him an entrance
into the land of light and joy,
in the fellowship of thy saints;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth
with thee and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The People are seated.

The Celebrant goes to his stall as
the first and second readers are led to the lectern.
The first reader steps up to the reading desk.

READING FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES RABBI KUSHNERi
ISAIAH 40:28-31

A reading from Isaiah.

Hast thou not known? Hast though not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Here ends the reading.

The first reader steps down to the landing, and the second reader steps up to the reading desk

READING, JUSTICE O'CONNOR
PREACHED ABOARD THE ARABELLA

From a sermon of John Winthrop, preached in 1630.

Now the only way. . . to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God.. We must delight in each other; make others. conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body.. The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as His own people.. For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.

The second reader steps down, and both readers are led back to their seats.

A lectern is placed on the rood screen landing center for Mr. Mulrony.i

ANTHEM TUNE: JERUSALEM
SUNG BY THE CATHEDRAL CHOIR

O love of God, how strong and true, Eternal and yet ever new;
Uncomprehended and unbought, Beyond all knowledge and all thought!
O love of God, how deep and great, Far deeper than man.s deepest hate;
Self-fed, self-kindled like the light, Changeless, eternal, infinite.

O heavenly love, how precious still, In days of weariness and ill,
In nights of pain and helplessness, To heal, to comfort, and to bless!
O wide-embracing, wondrous love! We read you in the sky above,
We read you in the earth below, In seas that swell and streams that flow.

We read you best in him who came To bear for us the cross of shame;
Sent by the Father from on high, Our life to live, our death to die.
We read your power to bless and save, E.en in the darkness of the grave;
Still more in resurrection light We read the fullness of your might.

O love of God, our shield and stay Through all the perils of our way!
Eternal love, in you we rest Forever safe, forever blest.
We will exalt you, God and King, and we will ever praise your name;
We will extol you every day, and evermore your praise proclaim

Horatio Bonar, 1858

Towards the end of the anthem, Mr. Mulroney is led to the landing lectern for his tribute.

TRIBUTE, MR. MULRONEY

As Mr. Mulroney returns, the landing lectern is removed. The Celebrant stands at his stall, faces the congregation, and introduces Baroness Thatcher.s videotaped tribute, then takes his seat again.

TRIBUTE, (VIA VIDEOTAPE) BARONESS THATCHER

When the tape is finished, Mr. Bush is led to the pulpit for his tribute.

TRIBUTE, MR. BUSH

When Mr. Bush has finished,
he is led back to his seat as
President Bush is led to the pulpit.

TRIBUTE PRESIDENT BUSH

ANTHEM, WILLIAM STEFFE
SUNG BY THE ARMED FORCES CHORUS WITH THE US MARINE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on. Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen him in the watchfires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read his righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.

Chorus

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Chorus

Julia Ward Howe

During the last chorus, the third reader is led to the lectern for the Gospel lesson.

The People stand for the Gospel

GOSPEL, CARDINAL MCCARRICK
MATTHEW 5:14-16

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew.

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven..

Reader The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.

As the reader returns to his stall,
the Celebrant goes to the pulpit for the homily.

HOMILY, MR. DANFORTH

As the homilist returns to his stall,
the orchestra and soloist begin the anthem.

ANTHEM TUNE: NEW BRITAIN
SUNG BY RONAN TYNAN

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

"Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

The Lord has promised good to me; his word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come;
'Tis grace that brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home.

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun.

John Newton; st. 5 John Rees

During the last verse, the Vicar is led to the bottom of the lectern steps.

The people stand for the remainder of the service, as they are able.

From his stall, the Celebrant leads the Lord.s Prayer, said by all.

Our Father, who 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 debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

The Vicar steps up to the lectern reading desk to lead the prayers.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE, BISHOP EASTMAN

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord: Grant, we beseech thee, to thy whole Church in paradise and on earth, thy light and thy peace. Amen.

Grant that all who have been baptized into Christ.s death and resurrection may die to sin and rise to newness of life, and that through the grave and gate of death we may pass with him to our joyful resurrection. Amen.

Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as yet by faith, that thy Holy Spirit may lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days. Amen.

Grant to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that we may be cleansed from all our sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind. Amen.

Grant to all who mourn a sure confidence in thy fatherly care, that, casting all their grief on thee, they may know the consolation of thy love. Amen.

Grant us, with all who have died in the hope of the resurrection, to have our consummation and bliss in thy eternal and everlasting glory, and, with blessed Peter and Paul and all thy saints, to receive the crown of life which thou dost promise to all who share in the victory of thy Son Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

As the Vicar is led back to his stall, the organ begins the hymn introduction.

During this hymn, those who are required for the departing ceremonies outside are unobtrusively escorted from the Cathedral.

HYMN TUNE: ODE TO JOY

Sung by all

Sing with all the saints in glory, sing the resurrection song! Death and sorrow, earth.s dark story, to the former days belong. All around the clouds are breaking, Soon the storms of time will cease; In God's likeness, we awaken, Knowing everlasting peace.

O what glory, far exceeding, All that eye has yet perceived! Holiest hearts for ages pleading, Never that full joy conceived. God has promised, Christ prepares it, There on high our welcome waits; Every humble spirit shares it, Christ has passed the eternal gates.

During the last verse, vergers lead the Bishop of Washington, the Vicar, and the Celebrant to the foot of the casket, the Celebrant at the foot, the Vicar to his left, and the Bishop to his right, where they face the congregation

The Celebrant then says responsively with the people

THE COMMENDATION, MR. DANFORTH

Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Thou only art immortal,
the creator and maker of mankind;
and we are mortal, formed of the earth,
and unto earth shall we return.
For so thou didst ordain when thou createdst me, saying,
Dust thou art,
and unto dust shalt thou return..
All we go down to the dust;
yet even at the grave we make our song:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

The Celebrant, facing the body, says

Into thy hands, O merciful Savior,
we commend thy servant Ronald.
Acknowledge, we humbly beseech thee,
a sheep of thine own fold,
a lamb of thine own flock,
a sinner of thine own redeeming.
Receive him into the arms of thy mercy,
into the blessed rest of everlasting peace,
and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

THE BLESSING, BISHOP CHANE

The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight;

And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.

DISMISSAL, BISHOP EASTMAN

Vicar: Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God.

As the introduction to the anthem begins,
the three clerics are escorted back to their stalls.

The bodybearers come from the North transept, rotate the casket,
and prepare to take it out.

During the last verse,
the acolytes take their positions at the rood screen,
and vergers take positions by their charges.

ANTHEM, NICK GLENNIE-SMITH
SUNG BY THE ARMED FORCES CHORUS WITH THE US MARINE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
Through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord.
Randall Wallace

Issues