Catherine Hext Liabastre
September 29, 1941 – December 13, 2024
Catherine Hext Liabastre, 83, of Atlanta, Georgia, died peacefully in her sleep on December 13, 2024. She was born on September 29, 1941, in Savannah, Georgia, to the late Col. Grady P. and Lois Thorpe Hext.
Catherine met her husband, Albert Armand Liabastre, in Savannah, Georgia. They married in 1966 and made their home in Atlanta, Georgia. The next decade saw the couple and their growing family living on campus at Georgia Tech. These were some of Catherine and Al’s happiest years while Al earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering there. Catherine was the life of parties and had many friends. She was an excellent cook and enjoyed learning different types of international cuisines from the other student neighbors. In 1968, she became a member of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. In later years, moving to the Atlanta suburbs, she and Al became members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. In the 1990s, Catherine and Al returned as members to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, where she was active for the remainder of her life.
She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia State University, graduating Cum Laude and was inducted into the National Honor Society. Catherine was a registered nurse and went on to work in several of the major hospitals in the Atlanta area. In the early 2000s, she became Director of the Tapestry House in Roswell, Georgia. Catherine is preceded in death by her husband, Albert Armand Liabastre. She is survived by her three daughters, Barbara Johannaber (Earl) of Gainesville, GA; Dawn Mathews of Hiawassee, GA; and Suzanne Aldridge Dean (Johnny) of Atlanta, GA; beloved grandson Samuel Albert Aldridge of Atlanta, GA; sisters Barbara Hext Evans of Wilmington Island, GA, and Cynthia Hext Whitaker (Robert) of Powder Springs, GA; as well as many loved nieces, nephews, and their children.
Memorials in Catherine’s name may be sent to Lekotek of Georgia, 1901 Montreal Rd, Suite 126, Tucker, GA 30084 (Lekotekga.org), a non-profit for children with disabilities.
PRELUDE
GATHERING
Welcome in the name of Jesus the Savior, who died and was raised to new life by the grace of God. We are gathered here to worship, to remember before God our sister, Catherine Liabastre, to give thanks for her life, to commend her to our merciful redeemer, and to comfort one another in our grief.
THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
When we were baptized in Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
ACCLAMATION
Eternal God, maker of heaven and earth, who formed us from the dust of the earth, who by your breath gave us life, we glorify you.| We glorify you.
Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life, who suffered death for all humanity, who rose from the grave to open the way to eternal life, we praise you. | We praise you.
Holy Spirit, author and giver of life, the comforter of all who sorrow, our sure confidence and everlasting hope, we worship you. | We worship you.
To you, O blessed Trinity, be glory and honor, forever and ever. | Amen.
Standing HYMN 660 Lift High the Cross
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. | And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you today our sister, Catherine. 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. | Amen.
Seated REFLECTIONS
SCRIPTURE READINGS Robert Whitaker
2 Timothy 4:7-8
Hebrews 10:35-36
Hebrews 12:1
Isaiah 40:30-31
Joshua 1:9
Romans 8:28
Standing THE HOLY GOSPEL John 11:17-44
The Holy Gospel according to St. John the 11th chapter | Glory to you, O Lord.
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last
day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."
When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
The Gospel of the Lord. | Praise to You, O Christ.
Seated
SERMON
Standing
HYMN 654
The Church’s One Foundation
Pastor Jonathan Trapp
APOSTLES' CREED
God has made us his people through our Baptism into Christ. Living together in trust and hope, we confess our faith.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Kneeling or seated PRAYERS
Let us pray.
Almighty God, in holy baptism you have knit your chosen people together into one communion of saints in the body of Christ. Give to your whole church in heaven and on earth your light and your peace.
God of mercy, | hear our prayer.
Grant that all who have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection may die to sin and rise to share the new life in Christ. God of mercy, | hear our prayer.
Give courage and faith to all who mourn, and a sure and certain hope in your loving care, that, casting all their sorrow on you, they may have strength for the days ahead. God of mercy, | hear our prayer.
Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as yet by faith, that, where this world groans in grief and pain, your Holy Spirit may lead us to bear witness to your light and life. God of mercy, | hear our prayer.
Help us, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. God of mercy, | hear our prayer.
God of all grace, we give you thanks because by his death our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed the power of death and by his resurrection he opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Make us certain that because he lives we shall live also, and that neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, will be able to separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. | Amen.
Standing PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always. | And also with you.
Please share a sign of blessing with your fellow worshipers in whatever way is comfortable for you.
GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you. | And also with you. Lift up your hearts! | We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. | It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead, and in whom our hope of resurrection dawns. The sting of death has been removed by the glorious promise of his risen life. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
You are holy, O God of majesty, and holy is your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. He lived as one of us, and knew our joy, our pain and sorrow, and our death. By his death on the cross you revealed that your love has no limit. By raising him from death you conquered the last enemy, crushed all evil powers, and gave new life to the world.
In the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
Remembering your gracious acts in Jesus Christ,
we take from your creation this bread and wine and joyfully celebrate his death and resurrection, as we await the day of his coming.
Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, and upon these gifts of bread and wine, that the bread we break and the cup we bless may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ. By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ and with all who are baptized in his name.
Remember our sister Catherine, whose baptism is now complete in death. Bring her into your eternal joy and light, together with all who have died in the peace of Christ; through whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty God, now and forever. Amen.
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray…
LORD’S PRAYER
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 the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
The risen Christ dwells with us here. All who are hungry, all who are thirsty, come.
Seated
Standing POST COMMUNION PRAYER
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace. | Amen
Let us pray. | Almighty God, we thank you that in your great love you have given us a foretaste of your heavenly banquet. Grant that this sacrament may be to us a comfort in affliction and a pledge of our inheritance of life eternal where there is no death, neither sorrow nor crying, but the fullness of joy with all your saints; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. | Amen.
COMMENDATION
Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant, Catherine Hext Liabastre.
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. Amen.
HYMN 504
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Used by permission onelicense.net A-725004
DISMISSAL
Let us go forth in peace. | In the name of Christ. Amen.
Liturgy from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2013 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #21979.
The committal in the Redeemer Columbarium and a reception in the Sims Atrium follow the service.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Officiants: The Rev. Mark H. Larson and The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Trapp
Organist: Sarah Hawbecker