How Christian Funerals Are Done
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by: Michal Sanders
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Word Count: 463
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2010 Time: 12:18 AM
What transpires during a Christian funeral? The Christian funeral is an interactive occasion, where the attendees celebrate the life of the individual who died. Moreover, a Christian funeral service aim to give an assurance to the persons left behind that the deceased is finally in paradise with their Creator.
Christians are staunch believers in the coming again of God's son Jesus Christ. Christians also believe that the works that they have done in the world will be judged at the time of their death. They believe that it is through their good deeds that they will be worthy of staying with God in his kingdom. Christians strive to live by the examples of Jesus Christ in their day to day lives.
For Christians, a funeral service marks the start of the journey of the soul to the eternal life after death. Funeral services and rituals are alleviating, because of the positive belief that the departed soul has at last found a permanent home in God's abode.
Christianity perceives death as a new beginning, wherein the soul is delivered from the world of suffering to the world of everlasting bliss. It provides some comfort to the bereaved family that the deceased is with God Himself and is enjoying heavenly bliss. This greatly helps in alleviating the pain that death of the person causes. The Christian funeral service is performed by the Christians keeping these beliefs in mind.
Christian funeral ceremony is usually officiated by the pastor. The funeral service usually takes place at the church of which the deceased was a regular visitor. Usually the ceremonies don't have casket, but in case the service is being held inside a funeral home, caskets are very often present. Usually, Christian funeral ceremony does not have the practice of exhibiting the body of the deceased person.
The funeral service is conducted in the memory of the departed, and it starts with singing of religious hymns and recitals from the Bible and Holy Scriptures. After this comes a short message from the pastor and then a mass prayer by all those who have gathered there.
Next comes the time of contemplation and sharing grief by family and friends, when the people gathered express their feelings about the deceased and speak of how the deceased has touched their lives and has left a lasting impression. Nowadays, people also put up a slideshow containing snapshots from the life of the dead person or play a video recording taken from the deceased's lifetime.
The conclusion of the service is the serving of food at a reception conducted very often at the church itself. A graveside service is usually not included, but some make an exception to this.
About the Author
Death is a sensitive time. After all, funerals present the family with a need to transition into moving on with life. Get the best caskets for your loved one's burial. Also published at How Christian Funerals Are Done.
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