Duncan, Ashley

9/11/1969—10/6/2008 “A Life Remembered,” Services at Hickory Chapel, October 8, 2008, 2:00, Tommy Daniel officiating. Interment at Woodlawn Memorial Park, Nashville, TN; arrangements by Woodbine Funeral Home, Inc., Hickory Chapel, Nashville, TN

Memorial Service program included Bill Rieder, Tommy Daniel, and Jerry Collins.

Prayer by Jerry Collins

O Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight, On whom in affliction I call, My comfort by day, and my song in the night, My hope, my salvation, my all.

The words of this hymn are our address to God and our expression for the family and for Ashley. We come into your presence with broken hearts but assured that you hear us. You know what it is to see a son die.

We take delight in memories of Ashley: Of his easy grace on the football field and basketball court, running on tiptoes, touching the ground only because everyone else did, Of his smile that lit up a room, Of his enjoyment of tricks, like putting fake parking tickets on cars of friends, Of his appreciation of those whom he loved and who loved him.

We call on you in our affliction, Mike and Kay and Jonathan and Julie and the extended family, the Duncans and Stringers and Angie and Brandon and the grandchildren, Those who went to school with Ashley and played ball with him and taught him and worked with him and counted him as friend, Those who love the Duncans and Stringers, their family in Centerville and other places, their friends at Otter Creek, their friends in New York and Virginia and Florida, their work associates, their life groups,

You are our comfort by day, Even in the valley of the shadow of death, we sense your presence. We sense it through the presence of one another, of those around us in this room. Help us, in the words of one of Ashley’s favorite songs, to lean on one another today, when we are not strong, and to be strong in the Lord for the family.

You are our song in the night, It’s hard for us to hear the song when we hear, “Ashley is ill,” “Ashley is suffering,” “Ashley passed.” Mike and Kay and the family have struggled to hear the song when their son Jamie and their brother-in-law Ronnie passed. Give us ears to hear the song and the voice and courage to sing it to one another.

You are our hope, our salvation, our all. Our hope is in you, God.

We kneel before you as those who have made and continue to make bad choices, who are weak in faith, who judge others, who are filled with pride for no reason. We understand that Jesus invites us into your gracious presence when we are most aware of our unworthiness, so that we can be saved by you and not try to save ourselves. We pray on behalf of Ashley that you will surprise him with joy and receive him to yourself. We believe you have a place for him and work for him to do.

We pray this prayer for us all.

From THE GATES OF PRAYER, a poem appearing in the program

In the rising of the sun and its going down, In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, In the opening of buds and in the warmth of summer, In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn, In the beginning of the year and when it ends, When we are weary and in need of strength, When we are lost and sick of heart, When we have joys we yearn to share, We remember them.

So long as we live, they too shall live, For they are now a part of us, As we remember them.