George Herbert Walker Bush: State Funeral Order of Service

George Herbert Walker Bush: State Funeral Order of Service December 4, 2018

In Celebration of and in Thanksgiving For the Life Of

George Herbert Walker Bush

June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
11:00am
Washington National Cathedral

Carillon Prelude

God of our fathers
NATIONAL HYMN; arr. Edward M. Nassor (b. 1957)

Praise my soul, the King of Heaven
LAUDA ANIMA; arr. James B. Slater (b. 1927)

My Shepherd will supply my need
RESIGNATION; arr. E. Nassor

Eternal Father, strong to save
MELITA; arr. Sally Slade Warner (1932-2009)

O beautiful for spacious skies
MATERNA; arr. M. Myhre
Dr. Edward M. Nassor,
Carillonneur, Washington National Cathedral

Organ Prelude

Prelude and Fugue in E flat Major (“St. Anne”), BWV 552
J.S. Bach

Pièce Héroïque
César Franck (1822-1890)

Andante sostenuto, from Symphonie Gothique
Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)

Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541
J.S. Bach

Jesu, joy of man’s desiring, BWV 147
J.S. Bach

Nimrod, from Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
George Fergus
Associate Director of Music and Assistant Organist
Washington National Cathedral
Scott Dettra,
Prelude Organist, Precentor & Director of Music
Church of the Incarnation, Dallas, Texas

Musical Prelude

Nocturne, from A Moorside Suite
Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
The United States Marine Orchestra

Lay Me Low, from Shaker Songs
arr. Kevin Siegfried (b. 1969)
The Armed Forces Chorus

Our Town
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
The United States Marine Orchestra

My Song in the Night
arr. Paul Christiansen (1941-1997)
The Armed Forces Chorus

The family arrives and the congregation remains seated.

Hymn to the Fallen
John Williams (b. 1932)

America, the Beautiful
Samuel Augustus Ward (1847–1903);
arr. Carmen Dragon (1914–1984)
The Armed Forces Chorus, Cathedral Choir, and The United States Marine Orchestra

Musical Honors

Four Ruffles and Flourishes
James Sanderson (1769-1841)

Hail to the Chief
Joseph Barnby (1838–1896)

For all the saints
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958); arr. James Hosay (b. 1959)
The United States Coast Guard Band

The Burial of the Dead

The bourdon bell tolls forty-one times as the cortege moves from the United States Capitol to the Cathedral.

The congregation remains seated as the body is received at the Great West Doors.

The Reception of the Body
The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry,
Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church
The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde,
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington

Bishop Curry: With faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the body of our brother George for burial. Let us pray with confidence to God, the Giver of life, that he will raise him to perfection in the company of the saints. Deliver your servant, George, O Sovereign Lord Christ, from all evil, and set him free from every bond; that he may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations; where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever.

People: Amen.

Bishop Budde: Let us also pray for all who mourn, that they may cast their care on God and know the consolation of his love.

Almighty God, look with pity upon the sorrows of your servants for whom we pray. Remember them, Lord, in mercy; nourish them with patience; comfort them with a sense of your goodness; lift up your countenance upon them; and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

People: Amen.

Introit
The Cathedral Choir
My house shall be called a house of prayer
Douglas Major (b. 1953)
The Cathedral Choir

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. Alleluia.
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts:
and in this place will I give peace.
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. Alleluia.
(Isaiah 56:7; Haggai 2:9)

The people stand as able at the procession.

The Anthems in Procession
The Reverend Dr. Russell Levenson, Jr.,
Rector, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas

I am Resurrection and I am Life, says the Lord.
Whoever has faith in me shall have life,
even though he die.
And everyone who has life,
and has committed himself to me in faith,
shall not die for ever.

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him
who is my friend and not a stranger.

For none of us has life in himself,
and none becomes his own master when he dies.
For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,
and if we die, we die in the Lord.
So, then, whether we live or die,
we are the Lord’s possession.

Happy from now on
are those who die in the Lord!
So it is, says the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.

Hymn
Praise my soul, the King of Heaven
LAUDA ANIMA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Collect for Burial
The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith,
Dean, Washington National Cathedral

Dean Hollerith: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Dean Hollerith: Let us pray.

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of your servant George, and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

People: Amen.

The people are seated.

The First Reading
Isaiah 60: 1-5, 18-20
Mrs. Lauren Bush Lauren and Ms. Ashley Walker Bush

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their
nurses’ arms. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, or your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Reader: The Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

Tribute
Mr. Jon Meacham
Presidential Historian and Author

Anthem
The Cathedral Choir
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
arr. Michael McCarthy (b. 1966)

The King of love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his, and he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow, my ransomed soul he leadeth,
and where the verdant pastures grow, with food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love he sought me,
and on his shoulder gently laid, and home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill with thee, dear Lord, beside me;
thy rod and staff my comfort still, thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight; thy unction grace bestoweth;
and oh, what transport of delight from thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days thy goodness faileth never:
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise within thy house for ever.
(Psalm 23, para. Henry Williams Baker, 1821–1877)

The Second Reading
Revelation 21: 1-4; 6-7; 23-25
Mrs. Jenna Bush Hager

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”

Then he said to me,

“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The
nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.

Reader: The Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

Tributes
The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney,
Eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada
The Honorable Alan K. Simpson,
former United States Senator from Wyoming

Anthem
Ronan Tynan, soloist
The Armed Forces Chorus with The United States Marine Orchestra

Last Full Measure of Devotion
Larry Grossman (b. 1938); arr. Ian Fraser (1933–2014)

In the long and honored history of America
There are names that shine like beacons in the night
The Patriots whose vision gave us meaning
Who kept the lamp of freedom burning bright

In the long and honored history of America
There are those that paid the last and final price
Who were called upon by chance, or desperate circumstance
To make the ultimate sacrifice

A grateful nation bows its head in sorrow
And in thanks for guaranteeing our tomorrow
The last full measure of devotion
That’s what they gave to the cause

The last full measure of devotion
And though they cannot hear our applause
We honor them forever and keep alive their story
Pay tribute to their lives and give them all the glory

The last full measure of devotion
Beyond the call of duty were their deeds
The last full measure of devotion
They gave themselves to serve the greater need

And for those who did survive
And came back home alive
They join in praise of comrades who were slain
And highly resolved, most highly resolved
That these dead shall not have died in vain

Tribute
The Honorable George W. Bush
Forty-Third President of the United States of America

Anthem

The Armed Forces Chorus with The United States Marine Orchestra

O God, our help in ages past
William Croft (1678–1727); arr. Mack Wilberg (b. 1955)

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home:

Under the shadow of thy throne thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame,
from everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same.

A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all our years away;
they fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
be thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.

(Psalm 90:1-5, para. Isaac Watts, 1674–1748)

The people stand as able.

The Holy Gospel
The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith,
Dean, Washington National Cathedral

Dean Hollerith: The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it
under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Dean Hollerith: The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

The people are seated at the invitation of the Reverend Dr. Levenson.

Homily
The Reverend Dr. Russel Levenson, Jr.,
Rector, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas

Musical Reflection
Michael W. Smith, soloist
The Armed Forces Choir and The Cathedral Choir with The United States Marine Orchestra

Friends
Michael W. Smith (b. 1957) and Deborah Kay Davis (b. 1958); arr. David Hamilton

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
Can’t believe the hopes He’s granted
Means a chapter in your life is through
But we’ll keep you close as always
It won’t even seem you’ve gone
’Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord’s the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
’Cause the welcome will not end
Though it’s hard to let you go
In the Father’s hands we know
That a lifetime’s not too long
To live as friends

With the faith and love God’s given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy you’ll live in
Is the strength that now you show
But we’ll keep you close as always
It won’t even seem you’ve gone
’Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

No, a lifetime’s not too long
To live as friends

The people stand as able.

The Apostles’ Creed

Said by all in unison

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The people are seated.

The Lord’s Prayer
Alfred Hay Malotte (1895–1964); arr. Alan Baylock
Ronan Tynan, soloist
The Armed Forces Chorus and The Cathedral Choir with The United States Marine Orchestra

Our Father, which art in heaven;
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done
in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day
our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors,
and lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever.
Amen.

The people stand as able.

The Prayers
The Reverend Canon Jan Naylor Cope,
Provost, Washington National Cathedral

Canon Cope: For our brother George, let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ who said, “I am Resurrection and I am Life.”

Lord, you consoled Martha and Mary in their distress; draw near to us who mourn for George, and dry the tears of
those who weep.

People: Hear us, Lord.

Canon Cope: You wept at the grave of Lazarus, your friend; comfort us in our sorrow.

People: Hear us, Lord.

Canon Cope: You raised the dead to life; give to our brother eternal life.

People: Hear us, Lord.

Canon Cope: You promised paradise to the thief who repented; bring our brother to the joys of heaven.

People: Hear us, Lord.

Canon Cope: Our brother was washed in Baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit; give him fellowship with all your saints.

People: Hear us, Lord.

Canon Cope: Comfort us in our sorrows at the death of our brother; let our faith be our consolation, and eternal life our hope.

People: Hear us, Lord.

All keep silence.

Bishop Budde: Father of all, we pray to you for George, and for all those whom we love but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them. May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

People: Amen.

The people are seated.

Anthem
The Armed Forces Chorus with The United States Marine Orchestra
Eternal Father, strong to save
MELITA; John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876), arr. Stephen Bulla (b. 1953)

Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea.

O Christ, whose voice the waters heard and hushed their raging at thy word,
who walkedst on the foaming deep, and calm amid its rage didst sleep:
O hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea.

Most Holy Spirit, who didst brood upon the chaos dark and rude,
and bid its angry tumult cease, and give, for wild confusion, peace;
O hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and power, thy children shield in danger’s hour;
from rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them wheresoe’er they go;
thus evermore shall rise to thee glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

(William Whiting, 1825–1878)

The people stand as able.

The Commendation
The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde,
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith,
Dean, Washington National Cathedral
The Reverend Dr. Russell Levenson, Jr.,
Rector, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas

Bishop Budde: Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints,

People: where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Dean Hollerith: You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song : Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

People: Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Rev. Dr. Levenson: Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant George. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light.

People: Amen.

The Blessing
The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry,
Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church

Bishop Curry: The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant: Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.

People: Amen.

The Dismissal
The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith,
Dean, Washington National Cathedral

Dean Hollerith: Let us go forth in the name of Christ.

People: Thanks be to God.

Hymn
For all the saints
SINE NOMINE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Musical Honors
The United States Coast Guard Band
Four Ruffles and Flourishes
arr. James Sanderson (1769–1841)
Hail to the Chief
Joseph Barnby (1838–1896)
Holy God, we praise thy Name
GROSSER GOTT; Heinrich Bone (1813–1893), arr. Michael Brown

The people remain at their seats until directed by the ushers.

Organ Postlude
George Fergus,
Associate Director of Music and Assistant Organist, Washington National Cathedral
Final
, from Symphonie No. I, Op. 14
Louis Vierne (1870–1937)
Pièce d’Orgue, BWV 572
J. S. Bach

The Washington Ringing Society will attempt a quarter peal of Grandsire Caters in thanksgiving for the life of President George H. W. Bush.
(The original version of this post added an editorial comment about vomiting to the phrase “The people stand as able” after the Michael W. Smith number. It was a joke, people, but I’ve removed it because I don’t want to keep getting nasty messages on Facebook, nor do I want anyone to be under the impression that the Cathedral needs a better proofreader.)

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