Unpacking brings forth hidden treasures. Here is a treasure: finding prayers and reflections about Aunty Ida West! I brought them together for Aunty Ida’s Funeral Service in St David’s Cathedral Hobart on 11th September 2003. Let me share them with you.
FUNERAL SERVICE OF AUNTY IDA WEST: Reflection and Prayers
In a book* that celebrated 52 Australian Leaders, Aunty Ida wrote:
‘There are a number of passages of Scripture that I find help me, . . . The passage in Matthew 14:22-33 about Peter (seeing Jesus and) stepping out of the boat onto the water and about his fear reminds me of the times I have been fearful, when I have had to step out of the boat. I get comfort from an old hymn ‘A Few More Years Shall Roll’. I’ve kept a copy of the hymnal for many years because it gives me hope and comfort; I even have a tape of me singing it from many years ago, and I sometimes listen to it. I am comforted when I say
A few more struggles here,
A few more partings o’er,
A few more toils, a few more tears
And we shall weep no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that blest day.’
The hymn (by Horatio Bonar) continues:
‘Tis but a little while
And He (Jesus) shall come again,
Who died that we might live. Who lives
That we with Him might reign:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that glad day.
In this Cathedral today, let us pray with confidence to God, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead for the salvation of all, the God in whom Aunty Ida found hope and comfort and who has received her into His glorious presence on ‘that blest day’, the day of her earthly death.
A Prayer of Thanks for Aunty Ida’s life
Thanks be to God for the gift of life.
God of life, you have made us in your image,
you called us to reflect your truth and light.
We thank you for the life of Aunty Ida.
We thank you that her life did reflect your truth and light.
We give thanks for her love for you that nurtured her love
for her aboriginal people and for all people.
A Prayer for the community; for we who mourn Aunty Ida’s death
God of all mercy, giver of all comfort:
Look graciously we pray, on those who mourn,
especially Ida’s sisters, Girlie and Bernice, and her children,
Lennah, Darrell and Michael and their families.
Also for her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchild.
Casting all their troubles and concerns on you,
may they know the comfort of your love;
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen.
A Prayer that Aunty Ida’s work will continue
Dear Peace making God,
we thank you that Aunty Ida worked for reconciliation and justice,
because in her words, ‘that is what the Lord would want me to do’*.
Help us to maintain that commitment
so that our community might be reconciled and just. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer-Traditional
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 trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory
for ever and ever. Amen.
Bishop John Harrower
*NOTE 1: Aunty Ida is featured in the book: Living Faith in Public Life: Fifty-Two Australian Voices, Openbook Publishers, Adelaide, 2000, pages 108-109.
NOTE 2: A Favourite Hymn of Aunty Ida West: “THE TIME IS SHORT” (by Horatio Bonar)
A few more years shall roll,
A few more seasons come
And we shall be with those that rest
Asleep with in the tomb:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that great day:
O wash me in Thy precious Blood,
And take my sins away.
A few more suns shall set
O’er these dark hills of time,
And we shall be where suns are not,
A far serener clime:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that bright day:
O wash me in Thy precious Blood,
And take my sins away.
A few more storms shall beat
On this wild rocky shore,
And we shall be where tempests cease,
And surges swell no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that calm day:
O wash me in Thy precious Blood,
And take my sins away.
A few more struggles here,
A few more partings o’er,
A few more toils, a few more tears,
And we shall weep no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that blest day:
O wash me in Thy precious Blood,
And take my sins away.
‘Tis but a little while
And He shall come again,
Who died that we might live. Who lives
That we with Him might reign:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that glad day:
O wash me in Thy precious Blood,
And take my sins away.
NOTE 3: The Media Release: ANGLICAN MEDIA TASMANIA
Media Officer: Rev. Stephen Carnaby
Tel: 0417 343710 Email: bishop@anglicantas.org.au PO Box 405, Sandy Bay, 7006
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Tuesday 9th September 2003 MEDIA RELEASE: TRIBUTE TO AUNTY IDA
The Bishop of Tasmania, the Right Reverend John Harrower, today paid tribute to Aboriginal leader, the late Aunty Ida West, who, he said, had lived a life of wonderful service both to her people and to Tasmania.
Bishop Harrower described Aunty Ida’s life as “one of great inspiration, flowing from a deep commitment to Jesus Christ, which in turn nurtured her love for her people and for Tasmania.”
He said that he would long remember the part she played in his welcome as Bishop of Tasmania: “Aunty Ida and two other Aboriginal elders placed my hands into some Tasmanian soil as both a welcome and a reminder of who had been the original custodians of the land. It was a very moving moment.”
Bishop Harrower said he would long remember the time he spent with Aunty Ida recently at her farewell celebration at Glenorchy: “I took with me to the celebration a plaque she gave me a year ago, inscribed with the words ‘Jesus is my Rock’. On that very special day she reminded me never to forget in whom I have put my trust.”
The Bishop said that the most striking thing about Ida West was her selfless giving: “She was always thinking of, and giving to, others. Her willingness to put others first was the most striking thing about her and a wonderful example to us all.”
See also: NAIDOC Week 2015 – Celebration of Reconciliation – The Water Ceremony
