One of the hardest things to plan is a memorial or funeral service. Not only do we feel a lot of pressure to honor our loved one, but grief makes every decision difficult. While I love that people are holding services in all kinds of ways, and have seen many beautiful services led by family or friends, putting a service together without a clergy person or funeral director can add to a sense of pressure.
With that in mind, I'm sharing some questions that are a helpful starting place as you think about what to include in a service. I'll also share a sample service order in another post.
What songs did your loved one like? (This might be hymns, sacred music or secular music.)
What music reminds you of your loved one?
Were there Bible passages (or other sacred writings) that were especially meaningful to them?
Are there quotes/poems/other writings that were meaningful to your loved one?
What prayers are meaningful to you?
Below is a downloadable version. If several family members or friends are involved in the planning, it's helpful to answer these together or have everyone fill one out. You'll get too many answers at first, but when it comes time to put the service together you can make some decisions based on the flow of the service. (More on that later.)
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