She Made Space for Relationships

We Give Thanks to God

for the Life of Patricia Ruth Telstad

June 4, 1937 – April 20, 2026

A Celebration of Life and Faith 

Friday, May 8, 2026 • 12:00 PM

Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home & Cemetery

11111 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133

Rev. Chienyu Jade Yi

Pointe of Grace Lutheran Church in Mukilteo, WA

I'm Jade, serving as the interim pastor at Pointe of Grace Lutheran Church. It is a deep honor and my privilege to lead us in worship today. On behalf of the church, Easter blessings to you.

I invite you to follow along in the service by responding where the bolded letters indicate.

Let us prepare our hearts and minds in the presence of God and all whom God loves.

Welcome & Gathering

Welcome in the name of Jesus, the Savior of the world. We are gathered to worship, to proclaim Christ crucified and risen, to remember before God our sister Pat, to give thanks for her life, to commend her to our merciful redeemer, and to comfort one another in our grief.

Litany of Promise                                       Psalm 27, 23, 100 

Pastor:	The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
Assembly:	The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Pastor:	He makes me lie down in green pastures;
Assembly:	And leads me beside still waters;
Pastor:	He restores my soul.
Assembly:	He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Pastor:	Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Assembly:	I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.
Pastor:	You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Assembly:	You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Pastor:	Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Assembly:	For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Greetings 

Pastor:	The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Assembly:	And also with you.

Prayer of the Day 

Pastor:	Let’s pray.
	A brief silence is kept before prayer.
	O God of grace and glory, we remember before you today our sister Pat. We thank you for giving her to us to know and to love as a companion in our pilgrimage on earth. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see that death has been swallowed up in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may live in confidence and hope until, by your call, we are gathered to our heavenly home in the company of all your saints; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Assembly:	Amen.

A Reading from Scripture John 14:1-6

Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Message: Rev. Chienyu Jade Yi 

We gather today with love, with memory, and with the ache that comes when someone precious to us is no longer physically here. And now, we hear the words Jesus spoke to his followers:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you… I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

These are words spoken to people

who were confused, uncertain, and afraid of losing the One they loved.

who didn’t know what came next.

who needed something real to hold onto.

And today, the same words from Jesus are for us.

Over the past weeks, I’ve had the privilege of hearing stories about Pat — from those who knew her at church, and Mary who loved her deeply.

What I learned is that Pat valued having places

where people are cared for and welcomed,

where she could be the best of herself,

where conversations exchanged,

where relationships mattered and are honored.

She did that at Pointe of Grace and wherever she was.

She made space for life to grow like how she tended gardens.

She made space for others to breathe like how she raised fund for those in need.

And in that way, Pat lived something Jesus teaches in John 14 — that

the way to God is not a map, not a perfect life.

The way to God is a relationship.

The way to God is a Person.

The way is Jesus.

And Pat lived out that relationship in her own faithful way.

Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

The way,

that is Jesus himself,

that is the One who walks with us, holds us,

that leads us back to God, and

that makes us say, “How good it is to be back in God’s presence, reflecting the image God created in us and sharing life with God and all whom God loves.

And today, we trust that Pat is held in that place

Because she belonged to the One who promised her.

Alzheimer’s took her memories, but it never took the love she gave or the love she received.

It never took the love God had for her.

It never took her value and purposes as a beloved child of God.

Pat lived with dignity until her final breath.

The dwelling places Jesus prepares are not for the successful or the strong.

They are not for those who “got everything right.”

They are not for those who live “a perfect life.”

They are for those who lived their lives — fully, honestly, beautifully, and faithfully— in all their blessed moments and all their challenging times.

And that is why we can stand here today with both grief and gratitude.

We grieve because we love her.

We express gratitude because Pat’s life was a gift — to her family, to her church, to everyone who knew her.

Jesus said,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled… I will take you to myself.”

Today, we commend Pat

into that promise.

into that love.

into that place Jesus has prepared for her.

Amen.

Words of Tribute

Mary Telstad & Family Members

The Lord’s Prayer  

All:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed 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 power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Commendation 

Pastor:	Let us commend Pat to the mercy of God, our maker and redeemer.
	Silence is kept
	Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant, Pat. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, 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.
Assembly:	Amen.

Committal 

Pastor:	A passage from Job 19:25-27
	“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.”
	Grace and peace from our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
	Let us pray. Holy God, holy and powerful, by the death and burial of Jesus your Anointed, you have destroyed the power of death and made holy the resting places of all your people. Keep our sister Pat, whose body we now lay to rest, in the company of all your saints. And at the last, O God, raise her up to share with all the faithful the endless joy and peace won through the glorious resurrection of Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Assembly:	Amen.
Pastor:	In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to almighty God our sister Pat, and we commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless her and keep her. The Lord’s face shine on her with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon her with favor and ☩ give her peace.
Assembly:	Amen.
Pastor:	Rest eternal grant her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her. Merciful God, you heal the broken in heart and bind up the wounds of the afflicted. Strengthen us in our weakness, calm our troubled spirits, and dispel our doubts and fears. In Christ’s rising from the dead, you conquered death and opened the gates to everlasting life. Renew our trust in you, that by the power of your love we may one day be brought together again with our sister Pat. Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Assembly:	Amen.

Dismissal 

Pastor:	Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
Assembly:	Amen.
Pastor:	Be at peace. Christ is with you.
Assembly:	Thanks be to God.
Pastor:	Let us go forth in peace.
Assembly:	Amen.

At this time, you are welcome to place your flower as a sign of your love for Pat, resting in God's promise as she faithfully did.