Spirit of Life, Spirit of Love,
we come today carrying our grief, our memories, and our love.
We gather around screens and devices,
reaching out with our minds and hearts
to join in this most ancient of human customs:
honoring one whom we loved who has died.
In this moment, let us know that we are connected
to all who have ever loved and mourned,
going back through countless generations,
reaching back into deep time
as time stops
for a moment
and we are one with the eternal mystery
of life
and death.

Breathing in the stillness,
let us ground down and feel the deep earth supporting us,
the trees overhead sheltering us,
the sky above us all connecting us to the universe itself.
We know so little of where we come from,
or where we will go when this life is done.

But breathing in the stillness,
may we know that we are one,
that we are held,
that love abides.

Let us be in silence together,
each adding our own silent prayers and meditations
as our hearts lead us.

May it be so. Amen.