Christian Funeral – The Ritual Of Letting Go
Posted by Ella Garner on Mar 12, 2010
The basis for Christian faith is the second coming of Jesus Christ, who is God’s son. Another belief of Christians is that the works that they have accomplished in their lifetime will be evaluated during their moment of death. It is their belief that the good deeds that they have done will make them worthy of being with God. Christians strive to live out the lessons of Christ in their day to day existence.
For a devout Christian, a funeral service is a celebration of the soul’s journey into the after life. It is for this exact reason that such services are very spirited, as they strongly assert the belief that the deceased has found an eternal abode in the House of God.
Christianity considers death as an entry into new life, wherein people are delivered from the world of suffering to the world of eternal bliss. It gives some comfort to the grieving family members that the deceased is with the Lord Himself and is enjoying heavenly bliss. This greatly helps in alleviating the grief that death of a loved one causes. The Christian funeral service is conducted accordingly and with the same spirit.
Generally, a Christian funeral ceremony is organized by the pastor. They are normally conducted at the church which the deceased used to visit during his or her lifetime. Usually there is no casket in the service, but there are exceptions to this, especially when the service is conducted inside a funeral home. A conventional Christian funeral ceremony does not involve viewing of the dead body at the time of service.
The funeral service is more of a memorial, in which the programmes start with singing of hymns, a vocalist, and religious readings from the Holy Scriptures. Then the priest gives a message and the people follow with a mass prayer.
Next comes the time of contemplation and sharing grief by friends and family members, when the people assembled voice their sentiments about the dead person and tell how the deceased has touched their lives and has left a deep impression. Nowadays, people also do a slideshow on the life of the dead person or play a pre-recorded video taken from the deceased’s lifetime.
The last step in the ceremony is that of a short fellowship reception that is held in the church itself and some refreshments are served. A graveside service is generally not included, though some people do opt for that too.
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