Welcome and Opening Words by Martin Welcome to this special ceremony of thanksgiving for Jill. My name is Martin and it is an honour to celebrate Jill’s life with you today and to stand alongside you all as we say our final farewell to this adventurous, resourceful, creative, competitive, organised, sociable, loving, wonderful woman. We have come together from different places, and we may be at different stages on our own journey through life. We may have our own beliefs and so may look at life, and death, in different ways. But there is one thing we all have in common, our lives have been touched and enriched by the life of Jill. So, we have come together to be reminded of her life and character. To recall and relive some special memories and to be thankful. There may be smiles, there may be tears. We shouldn’t be afraid of either. We are surrounded by a love that is stronger than grief, and even death itself. A love so powerful that some of us dare to call the love God, and God “Love”. In many ways, this is the last loving thing we can do for Jill, so we are doing much more than paying our last respects, we are actually playing Jill the greatest compliment. Thank you for being here. We are gathered here today to be gently reminded that there is a time to hold on, and a time to let go. We are gathered here today - not only to grieve the loss of Jill but to also give thanks for her life and her companionship. We are gathered here today - not only to mourn over how different our lives will be without her, but to give thanks for how full life was when she was with us. We are gathered here today - not only to recall the might-have-beens and mistakes of the past, but to forgive and to be forgiven. We are gathered here today to give and receive compassion, and comfort. May this ceremony be a source of hope and healing for us all.