Posted on 02/03/2010 7:33:40 PM PST by lightman
Funeral for Ben Larson, ELCA Seminarian, to be held Feb. 6 10-048-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A service of "song and prayer" for Benjamin Judd Larson will be held Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, Decorah, Iowa. Immediately following the service Larson, 25, will be buried in Phelps Cemetery, Decorah. Larson, a seminary student of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was killed in the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
The Luther College Nordic Choir will sing at the service and internment. Larson was a member of the choir while a student at Luther College, Decorah. Luther is one of 27 ELCA colleges and universities.
"On Jan. 31 the remains of our son, Ben Larson, arrived in Dover, Delaware," the Rev. April Ulring Larson said in a Feb. 3 statement. April is Ben's mother. "Ben left the dear people of Haiti and began his journey home from Haiti to Dover, to Philadelphia, to Minneapolis, and finally to Decorah," she said.
In her statement, April thanked people for the compassion expressed to the people of Haiti and the "compassion for our family. We continue to covet your prayers for us and for the recovery of Haiti."
April is senior pastor at First Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn., and former bishop of the ELCA La Crosse (Wis.) Area Synod. Ben's father is the Rev. Judd W. Larson, interim pastor at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Duluth.
Ben's body was recovered Jan. 28 from the collapsed St. Joseph Home for Boys, Port-au-Prince, by a local work crew that went inside the rubble to find him. He was in Haiti with his wife, Renee Splichal Larson, and his cousin, Jonathan Larson. All three were inside St. Joseph Home for Boys at the time of the earthquake. Renee and Jonathan were trapped in the building but managed to escape. Ben was buried as the building collapsed.
Ben was teaching theology to Lutherans in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. He was a senior at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. Renee and Jonathan are also senior seminary students at Wartburg. Wartburg is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Ben's "earthly journey in Christ comes to an end and he rests in God's arms until Jesus comes again," said April. "We remember words from the hymn that Ben so dearly loved and requested for his funeral 'some day,' 'Lord Jesus, You Shall be My Song.'"
- - - The Rev. April Ulring Larson's statement is at http://www.flcduluth.org on the Web.
For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews
Almighty God,
we remember before you today your faithful servant Ben Judd Larson;
and we pray that,
having opened to him the gates of larger life,
you will receive him more and more into your joyful service,
that,
with all who have faithfully served you in the past,
he may share in the eternal victory of Jesus Christ,
the Risen Lord,
AMEN.
Christ is in our midst!
Ping.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
May God rest his soul.
Suscipiat te Christus,qui vocavit te: et in sinum Abrahae Angeli deducant te
Was in the local papers.
Prayers for his family.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.