It's OK to smile, pastor tells mourners at Somer Thompson memorial service

Oct 29, 2009
By JONI B. HANNIGAN
Managing Editor

The memorial service for Somer Thompson was held First Baptist Church in Orange Park Oct. 27. Photo by Joni B. Hannigan

ORANGE PARK (FBW)—In celebration of Somer Renee Thompson’s seven short years on this earth, David Tarkington told family members and friends at her memorial service it is okay to smile when thinking of the joy she brought.

“When God brings to mind those instances, just trust God,” Tarkington said in the service at First Baptist Church in Orange Park Oct. 27, “He’s closer than you think.”

Somer Thompson was walking home from school with her twin brother, Samuel, and her sister, Abigail, 10, Oct. 19 when she ran ahead after a squabble with her siblings and disappeared. Her body was discovered in a Georgia landfill Oct. 21. Details of the cause of her death have not been released and an active investigation is still underway.

Tarkington, the church’s pastor, told Florida Baptist Witness in a previous interview he offered his congregation as the Thompson’s “church family” after learning Diena Thompson, Somer’s mother, didn’t have a church home.

At the memorial, 1,000 mourners filed into the sanctuary from outside where some had waited quietly for nearly two hours. Many were dressed in purple garments, Somer’s favorite color, or wore purple pins or ribbons.

Purple ballons were released as a white hearse led the procession to the private burial service. Photo by Joni B. Hannigan

At the front, a polished wooden casket was surrounded on each side by colorful flower stands with mostly purple and pink accented flowers. A large photo of a smiling Somer stood on an easel near the casket. Before the ceremony began, slides played overhead of Somer and her siblings and friends at various events.

“Somer was able to love greatly, she was also greatly loved,” Tarkington said. He was the lone speaker at the hour-long service which began with a soloist performing, “You Are My Sunshine,” the child’s favorite song, on the guitar.

Diena Thompson sat on the front pew with her boyfriend, her parents and Somer’s siblings—the youngster’s twin brother, Samuel, her older brother, Andrew, and her sisters Abigail and Megan. Somer’s father, Samuel Thompson, who lives in Graham, N.C., sat nearby.

Coaxing the family with gentle reminders of the “good memories” of Somer, Tarkington spoke of the spunky first-grader who frequently memorized infomercials, had already pranced around in her Halloween genie costume, and was known for her generous hugs.

“She loved people, she loved animals, ... she hugged everybody,” said Tarkington, referencing also the Nana’s Girls Club their grandmother planned for the girls who hung out to paint their nails and watch “chick flicks.”

Somer’s twin went from solemn to smiling when Tarkington joked about whether the youngster was asked to take part in the dance parties the girls would have with Abby singing and Somer dancing. He was supposed to be excluded, Tarkington said, from the “no boys allowed” club–something Tarkington, the father of two children himself, said he doubted always happened.

Purple ballons were released as a white hearse led the procession to the private burial service. Photo by Joni B. Hannigan

“Sometimes you tell these stories and you feel guilty,” Tarkington said. “Give yourself permission. It’s part of the healing.”

The praise team from First Baptist Orange Park and Shelvin Lamb led mourners in “Amazing Grace” and performed an old classic, “I’m Standing on the Solid Rock,” at the family’s request.

In speaking of Somer’s great capacity to love people, Tarkington said children often have a capacity for love and to better understand it requires an understanding of the One who “didn’t just create love, but Who is love.”

Though is sounds like a bumper sticker or a cliche, it’s not said lightly: “Jesus is love,” Tarkington concluded.

Tarkington said it wasn't his intention to be flippant or imply there are “easy answers,” but that despite the cynicism of the times, he believes comfort is found in Jesus Christ.

“I do believe the Word of God is true,” Tarkington said. “It is clear that Christ can get you through in times like this.”

In the discussions after Somer’s death that took place in the community, Tarkington said common themes were life, heaven and eternity. Beyond talk of “pearly gates” and playing harps, Tarkington said he believe Scripture teaches “we have a promise of a home in heaven.”

Tarkington recalled where Jesus told His disciples in John 14, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God: trust also in me. In my father’s house there are many rooms.

Going to spend an eternity in heaven is going home, to a “real home,” Tarkington said. “The Lord looked at them and said, ‘don’t worry, trust.’ He has prepared a place for those who are in Christ.”

At the memorial, 1,000 mourners filed into the sanctuary from outside where some had waited quietly for nearly two hours. Afterward, purple balloons were released. Photo by Joni B. Hannigan

“God has lost a child,” Tarkington said. “He knows exactly what you think. When you are all out of tears because you have cried them all out, He understands; He is closer than you think.”

Laying out the simple plan of salvation, Tarkington said God sent His son and that “Jesus died for you, He died for me, He died for Somer, He died for every person here.” The pastor asked those who were interested to follow him in a simple prayer and talk to him or another spiritual leader after the service.

“God gathers tears,” he told Diena, her family and friends. “Every tear in your eye has been collected by God. When it doesn’t feel like He’s there, when it doesn’t feel like there’s an answer, when it doesn’t feel like there’s hope, God is closer than you think. He’s collecting those tears and He’s there.”

Slowly rising to their feet after Brandon Phillips sang Third Day’s “Let Me Love You,” the Thompson family watched as the wooden casket rolled slowly by.

Diena Thompson grasped the edge and laid her palm on the top of the casket, keeping pace, with her children and parents close behind.

Outside the sky exploded with purple balloons as a white hearse left the church and traveled in a procession to Jacksonville Memory Gardens where there was a private burial service for the family.

After the burial, the church hosted a reception for the family with homemade food, Tarkington told the Witness.About 200 volunteers participated in the day’s memorial where they organized parking, ushered, cooked and provided music in the service.

Tarkington described his congregation as “a church that has been blessed to be a blessing.”

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