Funeral program

April 16, 2009 7:13 AM

Can you help me to create a funeral program?

I need to do the program or bulletin that's passed out to funeral-goers as they come into the church for my grandmother's funeral this Saturday and have no idea how to format it, proper wording, etc. Her church recently closed, so the church secretary who normally does the programs is not available.

Thanks!

posted by ReneeOg to writing & language (9 comments total)

Check here.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 7:22 AM on April 16

Pater Aletheias's link is a good one for example wording and formatting. Microsoft Word has a basic trifold brochure template that you can adapt to your needs and have printed at a copy shop.
posted by ocherdraco at 7:34 AM on April 16

I did one for my mother. Memail me with an email addy and I'll send you a .pdf tomorrow - have to find it at home - if you like. Basically, it was on 8.5 x 11 paper, folded. On the cover I put a photo of my mother, her birth & death dates and name. Inside, I put the order of the service, which I had gotten from the minister - well, we had all planned it together - and also a quotation that I had found in her desk which obviously meant quite a lot to her. On the back I put another picture & thanks to everyone for attending. The minister and some of my relatives were worried that I was overdoing it, that I shouldn't take on a project, but I'm really glad I did it.

All you really need is the order of the service but when the church secretary showed me the generic one they usually used it was so ugly I couldn't stand it.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:35 AM on April 16

Also, my condolences on the death of your grandmother.
posted by ocherdraco at 7:36 AM on April 16

Keep it simple. White space is your friend. Use a conservative, serif font. Perhaps a script font, as long as it doesn't look too "invitation to a party." Center the text. Black on white.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:38 AM on April 16

When I did my mom's, I put one of her horse watercolors on the front and tied it with a matching ribbon and flower. It really gave a personalized feel to it, and people got to take home a positive remembrance of what my mother created. The ribbon and small flower (which dried nicely) gave it a joyful color, which was nice. It was pretty, colorful, and happy. Just like her.

Inside I had a page of her dates (and where she was born), a page of what was on the program in the order it was to be presented (but not broken down to time), and the other pages had the lyrics to the songs that were going to be sung.

My focus was to keep the text simple, just a guideline. It worked nicely.

(remember to have someone proofread.)
posted by Vaike at 7:39 AM on April 16

MsLiquado is a United Church of Canada minister, and has a standard, fairly ecumenical format that she uses for funeral bulletins. I've included it below for a reference point.

(FYI, check with whomever is performing the ceremony; they may have a standard format they follow. If you don't have an official, minister-type presider, you can structure the service however you want. Music/no music, scripture/no scripture, prayers/no prayers, eulogy/no eulogy, etc.)

COVER:
-Centered under photo of deceased:
Service of Celebration
For the life of
Name Here
19__ to 200_

Date Here
Location
Town, State

INSIDE:
Usually a bifold, with text left-justified about 1.25 inches off the left edge, starting on the inside-left and continuing to inside-right (if there's a lot of information) or just on the inside-right.

Items normally included:
(centered)
Service of Celebration for the Life of
Name Here
Gathering
(/centered)

(left)
Greeting
Words of Welcome
Prayer
Words of Remembrance (or Eulogy, usually delivered by friend/family member/etc.)
[Hymn]
(/left)

(centered)
Word of God
(/centered)

(left)
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Homily (usually delivered by minister)
[Hymn]
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession and the Lord’s Prayer (included for those who don't remember it)

…Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

[Hymn]
Sending Forth
Commendation
Blessing and Commissioning
-------------------------
Announcements (any announcements about donations, luncheon/wake to follow, list of pallbearers, etc.)

Officiant: Rev. XXX YYY

[END]

Also, it's not a bad idea to include any lyrics for any hymns (not solos) that are being sung, to eliminate problems with not enough hymnbooks in the pews.

(Nthing the proofreading; when my grandmother passed away, we printed to words to one hymn, and used "swelling places" instead of "dwelling places" -- it did make for a very funny moment in the service that lightened the moment, however :)

Mefimail me if I can help more. So sorry for your loss.
posted by liquado at 12:46 PM on April 16 [2 favorites has favorites]

Often these kinds of programs are very formal, but I don't think anyone would mind if you made the tone more personal. Especially if your grandmother was a warm or playful person it might be nice to have some reflection of the tone of her personality in the book. A personalized tone of voice, with lots of details about her life, would make a lovely keepsake and help people to reflect on all that she accomplished and contributed in her life.

You could write a short bio of her life- where she was born, when/if she emigrated, anything she did that her loved ones would remember warmly, like hobbies, career stuff, community contributions, famous lasagna recipe, sense of humour, or whatever. If it's not terribly complex to compile, a small family tree might be nice, or a list of her relatives.

I'd put a nice photo of her face on the cover, in an oval shape if you can, although rectangular or square is fine, too. Put her full name and dates below it in a nice font. Keep the rest of the cover very simple and clean, lots of white space (like the left side of this funeral card image).

If you have more photos- from her wedding, her as a child, young woman, etc- put them in there! It's not always done, but photocopiers these days can make really good quality photo printouts, and people love pictures. I'm sure they would love to see them and be able to take them home. (Photos on a board or albums on a table are nice for the wake or reception, too, if you have them).

If your program is more than one page, and you're able to make the cover a thicker paper, that might be nice too. If you make it like a little booklet or folded card, with a nice clear image on the front, people will likely keep the program standing on a bookshelf, and it makes a nice memento.

I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. It's nice that you're making the booklet.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:48 PM on April 16

When my brother died, I used lots of pictures of him in the program. It was 8.5 x 11 folded. On the front was his whole name, birth and death dates, and pics of him as a baby with mama and daddy. Inside were pics of him as an adolescent, his high school pic, his college pic and assorted others of him at different ages. Pics also included family and friends, him doing the things he liked, with the purpose of all the ppl from the different areas of his life seeing aspects they hadn't known about him.

I wrote a short bio listing all his accomplishments and placed the order of service on the inner right page. On the back I made sure to add surviving family accurately. This part is important (at least to me) because so many people use funeral programs for genealogical purposes afterwards. Make sure to get all the names correct, include everyone and resist any family battles (if you can). Also on the back was information regarding the burial and the funeral home.

People really liked the program. They liked seeing themselves in the photos with him and seeing photos of him at different ages.

My condolences.
posted by elle.jeezy at 6:44 PM on April 16