14 November 2005

Rest in Peace

We arrived at the Church at 9:45am. People were already arriving. By the time 10:30 came around, the Church was overflowing with friends and family praying for the soul of the deceased and showing their support for his family. There were thirteen priests con-celebrating the Mass and showing their support and probably over 500 people worshipping in the congregation. Considering that most of the attendees travelled between one and five hours to attend this is a good display of the esteem in which the deceased was held.
We knew him from the homeschooling camps we attended. He was a school teacher and at the camps he always organised the softball game where everyone - young and old - had a go.
Afterwards we travlled to the cemetery about 30 minutes away. In the South of the US a funeral procession drives quite slowly with all cars showing their headlights. No cars overtake them and cars travelling in the opposite direction pull over as a sign of respect for the departed. We travelled up to 100/110 km per hour trying to keep up with the car in front who we hoped knew the location of the cemetery.
After the burial and final prayers for the faithfully departed we joined in the food and drinks in the hall. The children were sent outside to play to make room for the adults. We were able to catch up with many of our homeschooling friends and take the opportunity to reflect on life and death and the last four things.

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