The service at South River Baptist Church Thursday afternoon was not about death.
Instead, more than 300 people gathered to celebrate the life of Erin Hope Martin, a young girl who died of cancer this week.
“This is a time of rejoicing. This is a time of praising the Lord,” said the Rev. Hampton Drum before bowing in prayer. “There should be a lot of rejoicing going on in heaven, because one of your precious children has come home.”
There were plenty of tears at the memorial service, which came three days after 11-year-old Erin lost her two-year battle with hepatocellular carcinoma. She had touched thousands of people through her Web site, www.erinhope.com, which more than 8,000 had visited since her death.
But on Thursday, the crowded sanctuary reverberated with a feeling of hope.
Ed Brooks, one of two family friends who shared comments during the service, smiled through his sobs as he talked about Erin’s spirit and her devotion to God. He recalled that the rising sixth-grader didn’t like attention, and even showed reluctance to attend church on Sunday because she knew people would talk to her about her recent brain surgery.
He said he knew her faith led her through the last hours of her life.
“She closed her eyes to the pain of this world and opened her eyes to see Jesus,” he said.
Erin’s parents, Jeff and Crystal, and her siblings, 8-year-old Hannah and 5-year-old Andrew, sat in the front pew throughout the service. Andrew clung to his mother’s neck.
The family nodded in agreement as Mark Carter spoke of the hope he saw in Erin’s eyes.
“Her victory has been won,” Carter said.
During his message, Drum told the congregation to follow in Erin’s footsteps and stop making life so complicated. Like most children, he said, Erin embodied simple trust and hope.
This was a child who accepted her cancer enough to sing at the top of her lungs while stuck in a hospital room, he said. She kept coming to church even when it seemed as if she would fall over from exhaustion.
“She would come and sit down, as if she was saying ‘I’m here,’” he said. “‘I’m here, and God’s grace is sufficient.’”
The hour long service included an altar call, which Drum said Erin would have wanted. She took pride in the fact that two people had been spiritually saved after reading her testimony on her Web site.
As the call ended, Drum explained its importance.
“Erin’s with Jesus,” he said. “And she wants you to meet her there.”
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