Prayers For Interment – Ash Scattering / Saying Goodbye

We therefore commit his body to the deep,
to be turned into corruption,
looking for the resurrection of the body
(when the sea shall give up her dead),
and the life of the world to come,
through our Lord Jesus Christ;
who at his coming shall change our vile body,
that it may be like his glorious body,
according to the mighty working
whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.

Common Prayer Book

Text of the Traditional Anglican Burial at Sea Service

Lord God, by the power of your Word
you stilled the chaos of the primeval seas,
you made the raging waters of the Flood subside,
and calmed the storm on the sea of Galilee.
As we commit the body of our brother/sister [name]to the deep,
grant him/her peace and tranquility
until that day when he/she and all who believe in you
will be raised to the glory of new life promised in the waters of baptism.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Attribution:
Rite of Committal, Order of Christian Funerals, Roman Catholic Church.

“Forasmuch as it has pleased Almighty God, in His wise providence, to take out of the world the soul of the departed, we therefore commit his/her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, looking for the resurrection of the body, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ; at whose second coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the sea and the dead shall give up their dead, and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in Him shall be changed and made like unto His own glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.”

Attribution:
Bible Methodist Connection of Churches, Burial Rites.

O God of the sea and sky,

Today we stand at the edge of Your vast creation—between land and water, between earth and heaven—where the horizon stretches beyond our sight, much like the love we carry and the mystery that now enfolds our beloved.

In our hands, we hold ashes. In our hearts, we hold memories—of laughter shared, wisdom spoken, kindness given, and love that leaves an indelible mark.

As we release these ashes to the sea, we do so with both sorrow and gratitude. With sorrow, because we miss the sound of their voice, the warmth of their presence, the beauty of their soul. And with gratitude, because we were blessed to know them, to walk with them, to be part of their story.

Let the sea receive what we cannot hold. Let the waves carry them gently, far beyond the grasp of time, into the depth of Your peace.

Just as water returns to water, and spirit to spirit, so may they find rest in You.

Watch over them now, O Keeper of the currents.

And help us, too, find comfort in this sacred release.

Amen.

originally written by (ChatGPT by OpenAI) on July 22, 2025.

When I am gone, release me – let me go
I have so many things to see and do.
You must not tie yourself to me with tears
Be happy that we had so many years
I gave you love, you can only guess how much you gave me in happiness
I thank you for the love each have shown
but now it is time I traveled alone
So grieve awhile for me if grieve you must,
then let your grief be comforted by trust
It is only for a while that we must part
so bless those memories within your heart.
I will not be far away, for life goes on.
so if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you cannot see or touch me, I will be near
And if you listen with your heart, you will hear
All of my love around you, soft and clear.
Then when you must come this way alone,
I will greet you with a smile and “Welcome Home”

Anonymous

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
d quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

“Sea Fever”
by John Masefield ( 1902  )
Public Domain

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room,
I am I and you are you, whatever we were to each other that we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name; speak to me in the easy way,
which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone;
wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, and pray for me.
Let my name be forever the same as it always was,
let it be spoken without an effort,
without the ghost of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it always was;
there is absolutely unbroken continuity.
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near, just around the corner.
··· All is well.

“Death is nothing at all”
by Canon Scott Holland (1910)
Public Domain

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.

“Do Not Stand at my rave an Weep”
by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1932)
Public Domain

Let the sea carry you, gentle and wide,
Past the edge of the shore, past the pull of the tide.

No longer bound by time or sand,
You travel now where none may stand.

The breeze will sing what we cannot say,
And the salt will hold our tears today.

Gone not lost, and never far,
You ride the currents like a star—

Flickering softly, quietly bright,
Drifting through the morning light.

Go easy, beloved, into the blue.
The sea will carry you.
And so shall we.

“Let the Sea Carry You”
by Chat GPT (Open AI) (2025)
Public Domain

Ashes on the wind, a final breath released,
Carried where the ocean speaks in whispers and in peace.

No stone shall mark the place you lie,
But tides shall turn and gulls shall cry,
And every wave that breaks ashore
Will speak your name forevermore.

We do not bury, we let you fly,
Across the swell, beneath the sky—

For love like yours does not just end.
It floats, it echoes, it ascends.

“Ashes on the Wind”
by Chat GPT (Open AI) (2025)
Public Domain

Between the salt and endless sky,
We let you go, but not goodbye.

Your story etched in ocean spray,
Your smile within the light of day.

You are the hush before the wave,
The calm that follows what we gave.

We scatter more than ash—we sow
The seeds of love that still will grow.

So sail into the wind’s soft sigh.
Between the salt and endless sky.

“Of Salf and Sky”
by Chat GPT (Open AI) (2025)
Public Domain