Transcripts For CSPAN Funeral 20240706

You can also stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and find scheduling information for cspans tv networks and cspan radio, plus a variety of compelling podcasts. Cspan now is available at the apple store and google play. Scan the qr code to download it for free today. Or visit our website. Cspan now, your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. Next, the Funeral Service today for the Late Supreme Court Justice Sandra day oconnor at National Cathedral and washington, d. C. Speakers include president biden, her son, jay oconnor, chief justice john roberts, and historian evan thomas. Please stand if you are able. With face faith in jesus christ, we receive the body of our sister, Sandra Day Oconnor, for burial. Let us pray with confidence to god the giver of life that he , will raise her to perfection in the company of the saints. Deliver your servant sandra, sovereign lord christ from all evil and set her free from every bond that she may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations where with the father and the holy spirit you live and reign, one god, forever and ever. Amen. 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 on the sorrows of your servants for whom we pray. Remember them in mercy, nourish them in patients, comfort them with a sense of your goodness, lift up your countenance upon them and give them peace through jesus christ our lord. Amen. [bell ringing] [bell ringing] i am resurrection and the life, sayeth 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 people 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 on master when he dies. For if we have life, we are alive in the lord, and if we and die, we die in the lord. So, then, whether we live or die, we are the lords possession. Happy from now on are those who die in the lord. So it is, says the spirit, for they rest from their labors. Good morning, i am the dean of washington National Cathedral. On behalf of the bishop of the diocese of washington and all of us at the cathedral, we are honored to hold this Service Today and we welcome you all to this house of prayer for all people. We say goodbye to a remarkable human being. Justice oconnor was a leader, a trailblazer, a model and a patriot. A devoted member of this cathedral community, she was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to serve two terms, a total of eight years on the chapter on the governing board this cathedral. Always a person of deep faith, she held firm to the highest ideals of her religion and country. During the funeral for president reagan, Justice Oconnor sat right in this spot and read a 16 30s sermon by john winthrop, in which he wrote, now the only way to provide for our posterity is to follow the counsel of micah, to walk humbly with our god. Sandra day oconnor did all three throughout her life. And her career, and we are a better country because of it. Thank you. President biden to the Oconnor Family, my wife and i send our love. On behalf of a truly grateful nation for her service. I am humbled to be asked to speak today. To the members of the clergy, chief justice, justice of the Supreme Court, past and present, members of the congress, distinguished guests and fellow americans. More than 40 years ago on a wednesday in september, 1981, the Senate Judiciary committee came to order. I was the Ranking Member of that committee. The days business was momentous. The nomination of Sandra Day Oconnor to become the first woman in American History to serve as a Supreme Court justice of the United States Supreme Court. Announcing her nomination earlier that summer, president reagan described her as a person for all seasons. It was a person of all seasons that we saw during that hearing. And americans and the world would see her Extraordinary Service as a justice and as a citizen. Gracious, wise, civil and principled, Sandra Day Oconnor, the daughter of the American West was a pioneer in her own right. Breaking down the barriers in the political world and the nations conscience. To her, the Supreme Court was the bedrock, the bedrock of america. It was the vital line of defense for the values and vision of our republic. Devoted not to pursue power for powers sake but to make real the promise of america. The american promise that holds that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. The high courts that said, it is a body that all americans look for protection under rights. It is the u. S. Supreme court that we all turn when we seek that which we want most from our government. Equal justice under law. Equal justice under law is a noble aspiration of humankind, and aspiration of Sandra Day Oconnor, one that she pursued her whole life. The last justice to have held elective office, she was especially conscious of the laws impact on peoples lives. One need not agree with all her decisions in order to recognize that her principles were deeply held and have the highest order. And that her desire for civility was genuine. Her trust in the capacity to make life better is what this world was abiding. How she embodied such attributes under pressure and scrutiny empowered generations of women in every part of american life, including the court itself, helping to open doors, secure freedom and prove that a woman cannot only do everything a man can do and do it a lot better. Beyond the bench, Justice Oconnor valued the life of the nation, our schools and Community Centers and in our families and in our friendships. Yes, america is a land of rugged individualists, adventurers and entrepreneurs, but she knew that no person is an island. The fabric of our nation, we are all inextricably linked and for america to thrive, america must see themselves not as enemies but as partners in the great war of deciding our collective destiny. That is the essence of our national experience, the sacred cause of democracy that she devoted her life to, one that we must continue. I will close with how she did with her Opening Statement. On that september day, 42 years ago. She spoke about the power of family. Family, the hope of the world, strength of community, relationship between ourselves and the generations that follow. To her sons, scott, brian, and jay, she admired your intellect. You may recall that. We all saw on that day and all those years after how much she loved your dad. A brilliant lawyer, always supported her. The entire family, including the grandchildren and now after all these years, watching a disease that robbed them both and all of you of so very much. I hope you hold on to what is never truly lost, the love both of them had for you, a love that you had for them. A love that they shared so freely, and a love that you returned with equal devotion. What a gift. What a gift. I hope that you find comfort in another profound consequence of her service. The countless families that she helped by speaking so openly about your familys experiences. It matters. In that Opening Statement on that day in september, she mentioned how your parents got married in december. Here we gather today, the day before it would have been their 71st wedding anniversary. I know the anniversaries and the birthdays, the moments big and small, will be hard without them. But as the saying goes, memory is the power to gather roses in winter. I hope you find the strength in knowing that your mom and dad are together again this december, gathering roses in winter once again, both great americans for all seasons. May god bless Sandra Day Oconnor, an american pioneer. Day by day and with each passing moment, strength i find to meet my trials here; trusting in my fathers wise bestowment, ive no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what he deems best lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest. Every day the lord himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour; all my cares he fain would bear, and cheer me, he whose name is counselor and power. The protection of his child and treasure is a charge that on himself he laid as your days, your strength shall be in measure, this the pledge to me he made. Help me then in every tribulation so to trust your promises, o lord, that i lose not faiths sweet consolation offered me within your holy word. Help me, lord, when toil and trouble meeting, eer to take, as from a fathers hand, one by one, the days, the moments fleeting, till i reach the promised land. Till i reach the promised land. When Sandra Day Oconnor was a little girl, growing up on the vast and majestic lazy b ranch, she asked her father, daddy, why dont we go to church on sunday . And he answered, well, church is too far and the preacher is no good. And, he said, church is all around us here. In washington, Sandra Day Oconnor found her church. On many sundays she read scripture in the Bethlehem Chapel at the National Cathedral, but her temple, you might say, was white marble building on 1st st. Northeast. When she got to the Supreme Court in september 1981, she was the first woman justice in our history, in 200 years. On tv, many watched a selfpossessed, handsome woman with a gap tooth smile disarmed the senators, all of them male. The vote to confirm her was 990. The law had loman dominated by men. Start today graduated near the top of her class. The lawyer interviewing her asked, how can you type . She was never better. She went to the das office. She said she said she would work for free. The harder and. Her. Once she , never looking she made it her business to make the justices come to lunch, not to talk about cases but to get to know each other. If they did not go to lunch, they would go to the chambers than just sit there. When Clarence Thomas came on the court, he told me he did not feel like going to lunch, but after conference he walked down and said clarence, you need to go to lunch. He felt he belonged. She was the glue. Justice oconnor who had rounded up cattle as a teenage girl expected you to do your job, thoroughly. One of the law clerks taped this message. She was tough, she could be and she called to south bossi. Every year she looks at the cherry blossoms. She took them on fishing trips and when she caught the big one, she would yell hot diggity dog. She was never small minded. She looked up and so you have to be selfless. Mark case in womens rights. Justice stevens assigned the opinion to Justice Oconnor she said no. Some pundits began writing about the oconnor court. Thats not the way she looked at it. She did not like being called fickle. She came to view the court as an institution engaged in federal, state and local. She had a feel for where the country was on difficult issues like abortion rights and religious freedom. She knew that when progress comes it would be thoughtful and considered. Its good to be first but she doesnt want to be the last. Happy she would be four women justices on the. She told her clerks to never be above people. She decided to leave the court to take care of her husband who has alzheimers. She said its my turn to sacrifice for him. She was devoted to the rule of law and was relentless about putting the word, traveling all over the globe to do it. After she left the court, she made a crusade of teaching civics to school kids. Civics, stability, the rule of law. She had a civic religion. The unwritten rules and fairness and decency. How lucky she was, how much we miss her area. It is said is like a family composed of inlaws. 42 years ago i was assigned to help judge oconnor, it was my first day in a new job with the Justice Department and i was proud to be out of her team. I thought the group to do good job, after all, the justice was confirmed 990. I should have learned her approach was simple and direct. Get it done. Justices have a style on the bench. Back and forth. Some badger councils. Others spell out a theory and asked for comment. All of this is fine versus good but Justice Oconnor was different. The justice would jump in before her colleagues could with a wellprepared question, the question was clear, direct, even and then seated carefully. He went to the heart of the case with no fluff. The approach was, lets get what is most of to me at the outset. She saw a problem and solution she wanted to get it done so they could rest easy. Justice a headset for an actual debate but a second vacancy and delays led to her and i sitting together for more than half of the next term. That was enough time for another lesson. She and i were discussing a case in chambers and i think she retired. She simply got up and said just have to decide. There was not patients but i dont think it was entirely due to me. She made her own decision about the future and announced her retirement six months earlier. I think she was anxious to get it done. The last several weeks after her passing i had spoken with many women judges and lawyers who were young adults. They say the same thing. Younger people cannot understand what it was like before Justice Oconnor said the distance is a measure of time but also a measure of her life and work. She was a strong, influential and iconic tourists. Makes it obvious the judges are both women and men. The time seems so far away as Justice Oconnor was so good when she was on the bench. Sandra day oconnor had to study the launch a career when most of the promotion did not want women lawyers, let alone judges. She had to find her own style to unite colleagues when there was no example to follow for the First Female Senate leader in the country. She had to ignore slights and work to bring people together in social, professional, all the while setting a model is the first woman on the job. She had to fight for dignity and respect. She had to speak and it inspire about the necessity, so our generation and the next i have a roadmap safeguarded with all the gifts god has given us. She had to be the most important woman in the government and a devoted wife with her devoted husband john, raise sends who they were so very out. And she got it done. I am day oconnor. Normally, my voice is not quite this raspy but after a very sore throat i was almost unable to speak but i will do my best. The entire Oconnor Family is truly, truly honored and grateful for your generous words about our mother. We gladly shared our mother with the nation for 40 years. Imagine what it means to her sons and grandsons to hear the tribute you have given today, and the outpouring of public admiration since her death. I would like to share view all a personal portrait focusing on what she loved, what she believed in what she likes, especially as a mom. I should note i asked the choir to rig into a lively song if my emotions get the better of me. Her first love was the lazy b ranch in arizona where she was raised and she could see forever. She loved books. Growing up 30 miles from town was an isolating experience. Books transported her to another place and led her to stanford and beyond. Should love the law and this report. She loved our country and democracy. Most of all, she loved her family. From her father, she learned toughness. From her mother she learned how to handle any situation with grace. Our relationship was one for the ages. Despite the flaws, she loved her three sons and adored her daughtersinlaw and grandchildren. In 2006, she stepped down from the Supreme Court. She became concerned that citizens are disengaged from democracy. She saw so clearly, decades before anyone else that democracy cannot be taken for granted. The rolebased games were all great. The concert took off, today half of middle and High School Kids in this country and half of schools. Let me put her accomplishment in another way. At the age of 78, our mom led a nonprofit startup, within 10 years she achieved over 85 market share and 50 market penetration. Not too shabby. Related years ago, while going through my moms papers, i came across middle school and high school. Her marks were sterling. I was shocked to see something. A scarlet letter. In the first semester the fun of her classes, imagine what class it was in. Civics. She once got a b in civics. I ask you this. Based on her dedication to promoting the rule of law, do you think she has earned enough extra credit to raise that to n a . [laughter] [applause] what was she like . Quite simply, she was a force of nature. When she walked into a room, everything was more vivid. She willed things into action. People had a hard time saying no to her. She had on earthly energy. Her way of relaxing was to play three sets of tennis for 18 holes of garth. She would often drag people out rain or shine. She brainwashed us to think this was normal. Did we really need to go to a three family party and square dance hall in one night . It was not normal. She drew people in, took an interest in them and made them feel special. Evan thomas said a few minutes ago, she could be known as bossy. Well, her family can agree there is a lot of truth but dont forget, she was the boss. The lady boss. She had fun. She loved to dance and they were known as the best dancers in washington. In the city, it was not uncommon for the dance floor to clear, they were that good. In the late 70s in arizona, they actually took lessons in disco dancing. Quick survey, raise your hand if you have received Technical Training in disco dancing . That is what i thought. My mom is the first person on the Supreme Court with Technical Training in disco dancing. What was she like as a mom . Well, having a demanding fulltime professional career, she was still a mom. She ran everything. She did it all. Organizing the household, outstanding cooking, grocery shopping. Planning social calendars. Everything. All while still achieving extraordinary things at work. My brothers and i all headed row seat and we still wonder how she did it all. She loved her own marriage, so of course she wanted to set up her 3 sons with nice young women too. My brothers and i all thought that our dating lives were going great, but to our mom we were not married yet so there was devcon, devcon three. In my early 30s she tried to set me up with a new prospect. She said, jay, i want you to meet a delightful young woman who is the daughter of someone i know. She is very nice. Theres just one thing. Recently, she fell off a horse and is in a full body cast right now, but i am sure her cast will be off in no time. That was the low point of my dating life. My mom trying to set me up with a woman in a full body cast. In her mind, this was a pragmatic solution to the problem of a son she loved without a nice wife. Classic Sandra Day Oconnor. When some years later i met and married my beautiful wife heather, it was unclear who loved heather moore. My mom or me. I say it was me, but it was close. She buried her approaches with each of her sons based on her different interests and personalities. With her hardcharging eldest son scott, getting him to 5 30 am swim practice every morning helped him become an allamerican swimmer at stanford. With her thrillseeking middle son, ryan, it was a different story and different approach. When brian was in high school, he decided to secretly take hang gliding lessons. He knew our parents would not be thrilled. When my mother discovered a receipt dropped on the bedroom floor, smooth move, brian, there was quite a discussion that night at the dinner table. Our parents said, hang gliding is literally the most dangerous sport in the world. We give you boys a lot of latitude, but we draw the line at hang gliding. For all we care, you could take up parachuting. Naturally, the next weekend, brian took up parachuting. Now, 2500 jumps later, he is an elitelevel parachuter and still does 50man formations. As for her approach with me, my mom typed all of my papers in high school. I took typing class in the junior year of high school. Let me tell you, nothing quite focuses the mind like having Sandra Day Oconnor type and read all of your english essays. To her tremendous credit, she never took out her red editing pen on my papers. She typed them exactly as written. It must have been torture for her. I can assure you that her law clerks did not enjoy the same special treatment. We have lots of interesting conversations around the dinner table. Of course, my mom asked probing questions. On the court she was known for almost always asking the first question at oral arguments, serious questions that cut to the heart of the case. Where do you think she developed those worldclass interrogation skills . Once she arrived at the Supreme Court . Hardly. She finally honed those techniques grilling her 3 sons about what time you come home on saturday night. To the trial attorneys of america, youre welcome. What were our moms maxims for us as kids . The sayings that she drove into us over and over again . If you dont have anything nice to say, dont say it at all. Get it done. Does that sound familiar . And her most repeated command of all, dont hit your brother. Amazingly, these very maxims were some of the exact same strategies she used two make herself so successful in life on the Supreme Court. Im serious. Dont hit your brother was the first lesson in her own philosophy she taught us over time. To not lash out at anyone, even your opponent. Treat everyone with kindness and respect. This approach allowed her to navigate every situation with grace. 36 years ago she wrote longhand a letter to her 3 sons and sealed it, not to be opened until the near the end of her life. Including detailed instructions about what would happen when she died. Including what she wanted at her funeral, her Favorite Music to include, some key readings, and more. The unmistakable theme of her selections was justice on earth. How fitting. It wont surprise you to know that we are following her instructions here today to a t. In the letter, she also wrote her final message to her sons. This included the following passage. Our purpose in life is to help others along the way. May you each try to do the same. Our purpose in life is to help others along the way. What a beautiful, powerful, totally Sandra Day Oconnor sentiment. Is fair to scott, brian, and me that she lived her own life in complete accord with this purpose. So, now that she has completed the circle, her family will take her remains back to her beloved lazy b ranch, back to round mountain, where she can hear the two giant windmills creek in the wind, and where she learned how to see forever across the high, open desert. Back to the sacred place where her extraordinary life began. What do we say to this special person, this little cowgirl, this remarkable woman from a remote cattle ranch in arizona, this mother, this justice who did so much for so many people . We say to her, we thank you. We love you. We will never, ever forget you. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, comfort ye, my people, comfort ye. Saith your god. Saith your god. Speak ye comfortably to jerusalem. Speak ye comfortably to jerusalem. And cry unto her, that her warfare, her warfare is accomplished. That her iniquity is pardoned. That her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our god. Every valley shall be exalted. Shall be exalted. Shall be exalted. And every mountain and hill made low. The crooked straight. And the rough places plain. The crooked straight. The crooked straight and the rough places plain. And the rough places plain. Every valley. Every valley shall be exalted, every valley, every valley shall be exalted. And every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight. The crooked straight. The crooked straight and the rough places plain. And the rough places plain. And the rough places plain. The crooked straight and the rough places plain. Please, stand as you are able. The lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. O god of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our sister sandra. We thank you for giving her to us, her family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before. Through jesus christ our lord. Amen. Most merciful god, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding, deal graciously with sandras family and friends in their grief. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come. Through jesus christ our lord. Reading from the prophet, micah. With what shall i come before the lord and bow myself before god on high . Shall i come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old . Will the lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil . Shall i give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul . He has told you, o mortal, what is good, and what does the lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your god . The word of the lord. Thanks be to god. Psalm 106. Hallelujah give thanks to the lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Who can declare the mighty acts of the lord or show forth all his praise . Happy are those who act with justice and always do what is right. Remember me, o lord, with the favor you have for your people, and visit me with your saving help. That i may see the prosperity of your elect and be glad with the gladness of your people, that i may glory with your inheritance. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost, but now im found was blind but now i see towards grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear, the hour i first believed the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to matthew. When jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. And after he sat down, his disciples. Praise to you, lord christ. Blessed are those who mourn because they are comforted. Blessed are the meek because they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled, blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy area blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see god. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of god. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when people revile you and persecute you and suffer all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account, rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you. The gospel the lord. The name of god, amen. Please be seated. My name is Bishop Mariann budde. Heartfelt thanks to Sandra Day Oconnors family for gathering us in thanksgiving for one you loved so well and by one by whom you are so deeply loved. Thank you president , mr. Chief justice for your attributes. Mr. Thomas, for not only your words here but your insightful biography of Justice Oconnor. And to you, mr. Oconnell, mr. Oconnor for speaking so poignantly about your mother. The musicians offering prayers. A holy moment this is and we are blessed to be part of it. When someone so loved and from whom we love so much died we face the reality of death. Let me say this. Having lived my vocation for over 30 years, having been at the bedside of many who have breathe their last, i am persuaded that gods mercy and love meet us when we cross over from this life to whatever awaits us beyond it. Cant say much more about the mysteries of death, but about gods love i am sure. In that confidence, i speak to you today. Isnt it also true at the threshold of death we cant help but ponder the mystery of life . Not life in the abstract, but the one wild and precious life. That was Justice Sandra day oconnor. One of my teachers likes to remind us that what we say, what any of us say about anyone else reveals as much about us as the one of whom we speak. That was certainly the case in the year 2008 when Justice Oconnor returned to her alma mater to deliver the inaugural speech in what would become an annual event honoring the renowned stanford law professor who had inspired her to study law. As with your tributes to Justice Oconnor today, what she said about professor rathburn offered insight into her soul and her sense of vocation. Rathburn, she said, was the first person ever to speak in my presence of how an individual can make a difference. How a single, caring person can effectively determine the course of events. I had not heard that before, really. He put it in such a persuasive way that i think most of us came to believe it might be true and to take seriously the notion that we could make a difference. Few people have taken it as seriously as she, the conviction that a single, caring person can help determine the course of events. As evidenced today and in the scores of remembrances since her death, she not only lived by that conviction, she inspired it in others. She cared deeply with those in her orbit. She invested in them the way rathburn invested in her. Now, in that same speech she quoted a poem by kipling that rathburn often recited. It is we can hear the life philosophy that guided her in the courtroom and in life. They are good words for us all. If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when others doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too. If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about dont deal in lies, or being hated dont give way to hating. Yet, dont look too good nordoo wise. If you can dream and not make dreams your master, if you can think and not make thoughts your aim. If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same. If you can bear to hear the truth youve spoken twisted to make a trap for fools, but watch the things you gave your life to, broken and stoop and build them up with wornout tools. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings nor lose the common touch. If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, it all counts with you, but none too much. If you can fill the Unforgiving Minute with 60 seconds worth of a distance run, yours is the earth and everything thats in it, and whats more, you will be a man, my son. Justice oconnor had no interest in being a man. But she didnt feel herself excluded from kiplings wisdom, and she resolved to live by it. Doing so, she walked through doors previously reserved for men, and kept them open for those of us who followed. Preparation for today i found myself conquering the ark of long lives. The evolution and transformation of life that occurs over decades, and the essence of a person that remains constant over time. For we pay homage to the entirety of Justice Oconnors life from her childhood at the lazy b, and her final years as she could succumb to the same disease that afflicted her husband, john. And few of us know what it costs Justice Sandra day oconnor to live her life, in her seasons of greatest strength, enjoy, she seemed invincible. The most powerful woman in washington. Yet we know that the ark of any life is never a straight line. And hers was no exception. As richard rohr writes, life as a physical tradition makes clear in both loss and renewal, death and resurrection, chaos in the healing of it at the same time. Life can seem to be a collision of opposites. Faith at its core is an abiding trust in an underlying life force so strong that it includes even death. Another woman pioneer of the law, polly murray, was born 20 years before Justice Oconnor on the other cited the country, and on the other side of the break divide. Well acquainted with racial discrimination, murray was stunned to discover, when she enrolled at Howard University law school, that gender discrimination was at large, if not, a larger hurdle for her than race. She dedicated her life to ending what she dubbed as jane crow, and mary lived to see Justice Oconnor name to the highest court in the land. Shortly before her death in 19 85, murray said, ive lived long enough to see many of my lost causes found. Justice oconnor wasnt only an inspiration for those who came after her, she was the realization of what generations of women before her struggled, in their respective realms, to accomplish. Theres a particular responsibility that comes with being first. Not just to the future, but to the past. She held that space with such grace and dignity, recognizing the power and the importance of standing in that gap between dreams denied and dreams realized. And she also lived long enough to see some of her influence wayne and she had to make her peace with that as well, which is not easy. And when she recited kiplings words at stanford in 2008, i wondered if those realities were as much in her mind as the challenges of her more active years. But what all of us in this cathedral over the age of 16 no, and some learned earlier, is that such losses are universal. We live in wework, and we strive to make our contributions, and we simply do not know which of our accomplishments, if any, will endure, some will, others will not. The pendulum of humanity swings in ways we cannot predict or control. So, we occupy our time, our place in time, and in the ebb and flow of humanity story, doing all that we can, while we can, until the time comes when we must let go. All at once or in stages. There is nothing more difficult than letting go. But that is a part of the mystery of life. What it means to be human. All the more poignant. For those like Justice Oconnor, and so many of you honored who gathered to honor her whose vocations are played out in the most influential of arenas. I leave you with words of one who knew the gifts and the cost of a long life dedicated to public service, the 20th century theologian who said this. Theres nothing worth doing that can be accomplished in our lifetime. Therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history, therefore we must be saved. Have faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone, therefore we must be saved by love, and no virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint, therefore we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness. As we commend to god the wild and precious life of Justice Sandra day oconnor, and entrusted her to that god, faith, hope, love and forgiveness, may you live by the same, the same hope, the same fate, the same love, the same forgiveness now. In the wild and precious life that is yours. And in the service that is still yours to give. Amen. [organ playing] lord, god, abraham lord, god, abraham o hear me, lord lord, god, abraham now hear me o hear me show these people lord please stand as you are able. In the assurance of eternal life, let us proclaim our faith in saying, i believe in god, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in jesus christ, his only son. He was conceived by the founder of the holy spirit and born of the virgin mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate , was crucified, died in the spirit. He descended to the day. On the debt 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 on the dead. I believe in the holy spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the bible, and the life everlasting. Amen. As our savior of christ has taught us, we are here to say, our father, who art in heaven, how id 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 and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Our sister center, let us pray to the 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 and sandra and dry the tears of those who weep. You, at the grave of lazarus, comfort us in our sorrow. Hear us, lord. You raise the dead to life, give our sister sandra eternal life. Hear us, lord. You promised paradise to those who reprinted. Bring our sister to the joys of heaven. Harris, lord. Here us, lord. Our sister was washed in baptism and anointed with the holy spirit. Give us your fellowship with all your thanks. She was nurtured with your body and blood, grantor a place at the table in your heavenly kingdom. Now comfort us in our sorrows at the death of our sister. Let our faith be our consolation and internal life our home. Father of all, we pray to you for sandra and for all those who we loved but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest. Let life perpetual shine upon them. May her soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of god, rest in peace. You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind, and we are mortal, formed at the earth. Enter earth shall we return. First so did you ordain when you created me saying, you are doves and two doves you shall return. All of us go down to the dock, yet even at the grave we make our song, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Give rest, o christ twoyear servant. Into your hands, o merciful savior, we commend your service. We humbly beseech you a sheep, a lamb, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace. And into the Glorious Company of the saints in light. Amen. Now may the lord bless you and keep you. The lord shines upon you and be gracious to you. The lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Let us go forth in the name of christ. Thanks be to god. O beautiful, first spacious skies, or amber great amber waves of grain for purple mountains, majesty, above the fruited plains america, america got his shed his grace on the move and crowned like good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea o beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife who more than self, their country loved and mercy more than life america, america can you do is hear me, we are using this, do you hear me now . Ok. Week nights 00 eastern, cspans encore presentation of our 10 part series, books that shaped america. Cspan partnered with the library of congress that explore key pieces of literature that have had a profound impact on our country. Tonight will feature the federalist, a compass is a compilation of written by alexander hamilton. Our go so the u. S. Court of appeals for the armed forces and calling, director for graduate studies for civic and economic thought and Arizona State university. Watch cspans encore presentation of books that shaped america weeknights at 9 00 eastern on cspan or go to cspan. Org ask that shaped america to view the series and learn about each books feature. Click cspans washington journal, a live forum involving you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics and public policy. From washington, d. C. To across the country. Coming up wednesday morning, michael of the Brookings Institution talks about the latest of the israelhamas conflict. [standby] cspans campaign 2020 four coverage continues with the president ial primary caucuses. Watch live on the cspan network as the first votes are cast for the upcoming president ial election along with candidate speeches and results, beginning with the Iowa Caucuses on january 15 and the New Hampshire primary on january 23. Campaign 2024 on cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Click cspan is your unfiltered view of government provided by these and more, including sparklight. The greatest on earth is a place you call home. On sparklight its our home to an right now we are all facing