Pallbearers carry the coffin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, into St. George’s Chapel for his funeral service in Windsor, England, April 17. Philip, the longest-serving consort of any British monarch, died April 9 at age 99. (CNS photo/Danny Lawson, pool via Reuters)
VIEW FROM THE PEW
Some tell me I’m missing a lot and urgently need to break out of my COVID cloister by zooming, binge-watching, livestreaming. I do long to see the faces of distant family but I’m a TIP (technologically impaired person) and I need those guys here beside me to teach me Zoom 101. As an April snowfall covered the first blooming flowers in his Midwestern yard, my cousin said he’s doing a marathon viewing of “Hawaii Five-O” as an antidote. Well, I tried binge-watching a favorite cop show but, despite non-stop action, by episode three I drifted off into a nap. Then there are the news talk show junkies — after hearing hours of commentary and pundits’ blather with our muffins and tea, I have to flee my friend’s house with the car windows open to cool my brain.
So would you believe, I did watch a couple of events on the home screen recently that were mesmerizing and soul-satisfying. They were funerals. Both were reflections of the times, limited attendance because of the pandemic with people forced to be distant spectators. In the first case, it was thanks to a mortuary embracing the new normal of videotaping a service that I could join the congregation, at least in spirit.
In March, it was a poignant personal experience watching the funeral Mass of a dear friend, Ron Hedrick, 85, a man of quick wit and quiet manner who was passionate but not dramatic about his love for his family, his faith in God, his belief in Democratic Party principles and his support of the Chicago Cubs. His honor, honesty and humility enriched his own generation of family and friends and are a legacy for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchild. He was well known and contributed time, service and wisdom benefiting his tiny corner of the world, a village in rural Wisconsin.
Then there was the other funeral, broadcast worldwide, also from a sparsely occupied chapel because the dreaded virus threatens the great and mighty as well as the humble. I watched the funeral of Prince Philip, not as a fan of British royalty, but because advance publicity predicted it would reflect his deep involvement in his religion. I guess I can’t undo the religion writer app in my brain.
If you missed all the details of the admirable and productive life of the 99-year-old man who didn’t settle for just being the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, you can find all you want to know online. There was a lot more to his busy life than I’d ever known. Being true to my Irish heritage, I tend to tune out British royals past and present; nope, never bothered to watch the series “Victoria” or “The Crown.” Wish that would work out with the young royal refugees in California!
Anyway, back to funerals. Royal consort and retired rural mail carrier, they were men of faith; through their long lives, they had given thought to what Jesus taught and how to live it. Each planned his own service, choosing the Scripture readings and hymns that reflected their perspectives. Each service was in a traditional church format, Anglican and Catholic, not a staged “celebration of life” production.
The prince chose Bible passages and music that were linked to his service in the British Navy or “highlighted Philip’s advocacy for the environment, much of which he channeled through the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, a nonprofit he co-founded with Martin Palmer in 1995,” according to a Religion News Service report. That organization sponsored interfaith discussions on environmental issues and was “an avenue for Philip to acquaint himself with beliefs from around the world,” according to RNS reporter Paul O’Donnell.
“Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it,” begins a poetic acclamation of creation the prince chose, a passage from the Old Testament book of Sirach. Interestingly, it is one of seven books in the Bible used by the Catholic Church and Orthodox Christians that are not in Protestant versions of the Bible. We occasionally hear snatches of Sirach in daily liturgies.
“In his majesty he gives the clouds their strength, and the hailstones are broken in pieces. The voice of the thunder rebukes the earth … When he appears, the mountains shake … By his plan he stilled the deep and planted islands in it. Those who sail the sea tell of its dangers and we marvel at what we hear. In it are strange and marvelous creatures, all kinds of living things, and huge sea monsters. Because of him, each of his messengers succeeds and by his word all things hold together.”
Another choice by the environmentalist prince was Psalm 104, presented in a musical composition that Philip commissioned for his 75th birthday. “O Lord, how manifold are your works … all the earth is full of your riches.” It lists all the ways that the Creator provides water, food, habitation for his creatures. “He causes the grass to grow for cattle, and herb for the service of man; that he may bring forth food out of the earth … and wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine and bread which strengthens man’s heart.”
There’s a lot more to those Bible verses and clearly a lot more to Prince Philip’s faith and insight than I ever thought.
Most media covering the funeral skipped lightly over the heavy-duty religious stuff — except for connecting the royal Navy veteran with that bit about men who sail the seas and sea monsters. Fortunately for the press, there was pomp, which is easier to describe and photograph — solemn family procession, masses of military uniforms and bugles and the Land Rover retrofitted into a hearse.
As sorry as I am for all the families around the world who have had to shrink or even skip the final tribute to a loved one, I had to think that simpler was better in Britain. Only 30 of the closest family could attend and it was only an hour long. Public health concerns held back the hordes outside seeking video fodder, and virtually deleted the insiders’ parade to define their spot in the pecking order, not to mention the fashion show that happens when royal ladies gather.
Another interesting fact I don’t remember knowing was reported by the Religion News Service but not much mentioned otherwise. Prince Philip’s faith is rooted in the Greek Orthodox Church and that link was celebrated at the end of his funeral. A Russian Orthodox anthem for the dead was chanted by the four-member choir as Philip’s coffin was lowered into chapel crypt. Prince Philip was born in Greece, the nephew of a Greek king. The whole family fled to Europe when he was less than 2 years old, and he ended up in England and in the British navy by the time he met Elizabeth. He was required to officially join the Anglican Church before they married.
No eulogies
Philip had ruled out a eulogy, leaving it to the dean of the Windsor Castle chapel to provide a brief tribute to his “kindness, humor and humanity” in remarks pastoral and consoling to the prince’s close family members.
There was no eulogy for Ronald Hedrick either, because the family and friends gathered in little St. John’s Church in Summit Ridge, Wisconsin, brought their own memories.
He chose Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as the Gospel reading and we heard it as the pattern of life for a man who served in the Marines and was elected county board member and town chairman and covered country roads for 42 years with the U.S. Postal Service. He believed that his church and his country should exemplify the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.”
He didn’t go about quoting Scripture like a preacher, but I remember many a conversation about elected officials, government agencies and church hierarchy who fell short in following the Gospel message.
Ron also chose a reading from St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy and it made me think of his calm and diplomatic way of guiding his family and meeting the challenges and obligations of life. “Proclaim the word, be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient, convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.” And Paul’s famous words about himself must have struck a chord with a man who was a youthful athlete and lifetime sports fan: “I have competed well, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
The songs that he chose were such a reflection of his character and beliefs that they made me smile. “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me” from the “Prayer of St. Francis.” And “Battle Hymn of the Republic” with “He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” Oh my, I’d better refrain from selecting quotes from that one or this will turn into a political column!
The burial in the church cemetery included the usual solemn liturgical words but no pomp and bugles like the other fellow’s sendoff.
But the exuberant clan of daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren displayed Papa’s old baseball uniform and Chicago Cubs banners at the gravesite. They laid out bags of peanuts and popcorn. And everyone sang with full gusto, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
Oh for sure tears flowed, but so did the storytelling and laughter at precious memories.
I hope it was the same in the privacy of some cozy space in Windsor Castle.
I hope all the families who missed the chance to give someone a fitting farewell because of the pandemic or devastating natural disasters or horrific violence will find a way to ease their grief, be it with prayers or memories or songs and eventually, peace of mind.
I promise that I will take a lesson from the men who planned their own funerals. If you are like me, avoiding the subject all those years, it’s time to make a plan. Talk about it with your family.
That’s advice straight from the book of Ecclesiastes, which is read at so many Christian funerals including Ron’s: “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to give birth and a time to die … A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance … A time to be silent and a time to speak.”
