Program for a Funeral or Memorial Service
Design a 2-3 page program for your funeral or memorial service. Include your name and the place/date. Include an order of service listing what will happen from start to end. Possibilities: music, prayers, eulogies, homily, readings, ritual acts (carrying a coffin in or out, scattering ashes, etc.)
Next, analyze (400-500 words) this service from an outside viewpoint. What beliefs, if any, about life, death, and the afterlife does the service articulate? Which of the five models does it most closely track? (THE MATERIALIST MODEL; THE SPIRITUALIST MODEL; THE DOCETIC MODEL; THE IMPERMANENCE MODEL; THE PSYCHOSOMATIC MODEL) How? Which religious tradition(s) most closely informed it? How does it diverge from them? DO NOT merely describe your service. DO NOT simply say why you chose to do something or another. Offer instead a thesis-driven essay about this event that is scholarly, not personal. Write it as if the deceased were someone other than yourself.
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
March 21, 2023
Program for the Funeral of John Smith
Funeral Program
Location: St. Mary's Church, 123 Main St, Anytown, USA
Date: May 1, 2023, at 11:00 am
Order of Service:
1 Prelude Music
2 Opening Prayer and Welcome
3 Hymn - Amazing Grace
4 Reading - Psalm 23
5 Eulogy - By John's Brother
6 Special Music
7 Homily - By the Pastor
8 Ritual Act - Placing of Flowers on the Coffin
9 Prayer for the Departed
10 Hymn - It is Well With My Soul
Final Blessing and Dismissal
Analysis
Analysis
The funeral service for John Smith, held at St. Mary's Church on May 1, 2023, was a beautiful reflection of his life and legacy. It incorporated elements of different models of death and the afterlife, revealing a mix of beliefs and practices that blended the traditional with the spiritual. The service was rooted in the Christian tradition but also embraced a broader perspective that acknowledged the impermanence of life and the continuation of life beyond death.
One model evident in the service was the impermanence model, which emphasizes the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death. This model suggests that everything in life is temporary and that all things must come to an end. This theme was evident in the readings from Psalm 23, which emphasized the fleeting nature of life, and in the homily delivered by the pastor, which stressed the importance of living a life of meaning and purpose. The pastor's words reminded t...