Christian Funerals: Customs And Their Importance

Christian beliefs suggest that a funeral should be a celebration rather than a mourning period, for the departed’s journey towards eternal life begins as their life on earth ends. It’s the main reason why Christian funeral services are highly spirited because of the belief that the departed has found an eternal home in God’s house.

Death is welcomed by Christians openly, with the belief that it is an exit from the world of pain and a passage into the world of everlasting happiness. That the deceased is finding happiness in heaven and is with the Lord Himself is a relieving thought that lessens the severity of the shock that death brings to family and friends.

Generally, a pastor is the prime official at a Christian funeral ceremony. They are usually conducted at the church which the dead person used to visit when he or she was alive. Usually the services do not have casket, but when the service is being conducted inside a funeral home, caskets are usually present. Public viewing of the deceased’s body is generally not found in a conventional Christian funeral ceremony.

The proceedings in such a funeral service are similar to a memorial, in which devotional hymns and similar prayers are sung and texts from Holy Scriptures are read out loud. After this comes a short elocution from the priest and then a mass prayer by people who have gathered there.

Next the family and close friends share their sorrows with the gathering, and the people express their sentiments and respect for the deceased and share their thoughts on how the dead person touched their lives and left a lasting void. People nowadays do a slide show of photos or play a recorded video of the deceased taken during his or her lifetime.

The conclusion of the service is the serving of refreshments at a fellowship reception conducted usually inside the church itself. A service at grave is not very common, though some people do opt for that too.

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