Last Saturday we held Samuel’s memorial service. I understand events like these are often tough for families, and rightly so. But I went into Samuel’s service excited – I was happy to share Samuel’s life with so many people.
Because of how short Samuel’s life was, only our immediate family actually got to meet him in-person. That was sad for me, because we loved getting to share him with people. Samuel was my son, and I was proud of him, and happy to introduce visitors to him.
His service was an opportunity to share about him, and I was not inclined to hold back in sharing stories about his birth and life with us. I ended up speaking for 31 minutes (!), which feels a bit long, but we had so many great things happen during our time with him, I didn’t want to hold anything back.
In the end, my heart was full that day, as it has been since then. In the future, I’ll share some thoughts on the uniqueness of our grief for Samuel’s loss, but ultimately I was excited to share Samuel’s story with so many friends and people who care. His memorial service was our chance to do that, and we were touched that so many people came or watched it online.
Joanna and I want to share the service with anyone who would like to experience Samuel’s story. This video is the slideshow we shared during the service. For me, it’s powerful, emotional, significant, difficult, beautiful, and painful, all at the same time. I’m so happy we have these pictures and videos to remember him forever.
We also have a great recording of Samuel’s memorial service. It’s 85 minutes long, so I’ve posted some notes about timing below if you want to skip to certain sections. Of course, I think the whole thing is wonderful, so feel free to enjoy it all the way through 🙂
Service timing:
- 0:04 – Pastor Josh’s opening remarks, announcement, and prayer
- 2:31 – Song: Great are You Lord (All Sons and Daughters)
- 7:45 – Scripture reading (Psalm 23) by Joanna’s sister-in-law Bethany
- 12:05 – Fingerprint tree and special music: Light of the World (Lauren Daigle)
- 17:43 – Joanna’s sister Genevieve shares
- 22:00 – Bob’s sister Kristina shares
- 26:43 – Bob shares
- 56:48 – Slideshow of Samuel’s life
- 1:04:16 – Pastor Josh’s message
- 1:16:16 – Song: I See Heaven (Bryan and Katie Torwalt)
- 1:21:06 – Pastor Josh’s closing remarks
Joanna and I hope these videos are a blessing to you, as they have been to us.
Kniley Family Updates 
Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us, sharing Samuel with us! We weren’t able to attend, but shed tears of grief and of joy at God’s obvious hand on Samuel’s life, as we watched. Praying for God’s continued comfort for all of you!
What a beautiful tribute to one so small and fragile. You were blessed with his life and his purpose was achieved – to open your hearts and everyone else’s who has followed your journey. Peace and comfort to you all.
Thanks again for sharing Samuel’s life with us all.