Readings at a Christian funeral?

I'm not so sure there is a 'standard' funeral anymore. They seem to be tailored in the memory of the person who has died. Like at my mother's funeral we had two readings from the Bible (I'm sorry but I can't recall which they were - the 23rd Psalms, I think?) but we also had a poem read because she requested it. It's the one that starts: Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there, I do not sleep.

I'd suggest that if you want it tailored to a specific church, stop in and check the hymnal for the service. It would be our best guideline.

cjh

I don't know any specific verses for a funeral, but check out http://www.biblegateway.com and type in a keyword or verse. You can switch it to KJV and a number of other translations of the Bible.

The ones I've heard before include pieces of Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...", "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.", etc.) and Psalm 103 ("the grass withers, and the flower dies..."). I've also heard variations on a couple of lines from John 3:16 ("For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life") and John 11:25-26 ("And Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.")

The wording depends on the denomination and the version of the Bible used, as well as whether the person giving the eulogy is quoting directly. I've heard it as the exact version above, as well as "I am the resurrection and the life, sayeth the Lord. He who believeth in me shall never die."

Other funeral readings I've heard include lines from "Fruits of Solitude" by William Penn ("death cannot kill what never dies..."), "Don't Weep at My Grave", and "Crossing the Bar" by Tennyson ("I hope to see my pilot face to face when I have crost the bar."). My personal favorite reading was a girl who read part of "And Death Shall Have no Dominion" by Dylan Thomas. ("Though they go mad, they shall be sane/ Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again/ Though lovers be lost, love shall not/ And death shall have no dominion.)

At the same time, though, I tend to think speeches or poems written specifically for the person in question are a lot more applicable. I understand the inclusion of a quote or two, but I think the funeral should be about the person who died, instead of words long gone, written for someone else.

There's a nice scene in Four Weddings & A Funeral when John Hannah's character reads a lovely poem at his boyfriend's funeral, it's by W.H. Auden. If someone is giving a eulogy they'll often read a poem, especially if they're not religious themselves. Perhaps you can find a similar poem, with the same message?

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin... let the mourners come
Let aeroplanes circle, moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message: He is Dead
Put crepe bows 'round the necks of public doves
Let traffic policemen wear black, cotton gloves
He was my North, my South, my East, my West
My working week and my Sunday rest
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song
I thought love would last forever: I was wrong
The stars are not wanted now, put out every one
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood
For nothing now can ever come to any good

The readings themselves at (at least Catholic) funerals are generally fairly short - at least at the mass. At the interrment there may be a longer reading.

Psalms are usually good (like Psalm 16:9-11)

I like this one from the book of Wisdom chapter 4

The just, though they die early,
shall be at rest.
For the age that is honorable comes not
with the passing of time,
nor can it be measured in terms of years.
Rather, understanding is the hoary crown,
and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.
Those who pleased God were loved;
they who lived among sinners were transported–
Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert their mind
or deceit beguile their soul;

Unless you're looking for truly depressing, then Lamenations chapter 3 fits the bill well.

I seem to recall that Romans and Corintians has some stuff in it. The gospels too I'm sure but I can't think of locations/chapters off the top of my head.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" isn't actually from the Bible - it's from the funeral liturgy (though it's generally taken to be a reference to Genesis 3:19).

Most of Common Worship (the current Anglican prayerbook) is available online:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/texts/funeral... is the page for funeral services. As well as giving you a good idea of the shape of the service, it lists appropriate Bible readings.

For a more traditional form of the service (particularly useful if your book's a historical work), have a look at The Book of Common Prayer, also available online: http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/occasion/burial.html.

Both these are from the Anglican church - I imagine different denominations will do things slightly differently, but I'd also guess that Bible passages that are popular in funerals are probably pretty constant across denominations.

On TV, and at my grandfather's funeral, they read the 23rd Psalm. We also read from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. This one is usually read at weddings (1 Corinithians chapter 13 verses 2 through 13). This was a Catholic funeral.

For my grandmother's funeral, we had a family friend who was a minister tell what she remembered about Grandma. it wasn't very religious, because Grandma never was very religious.

I don't really remember my great-grandmother's funeral. I think it had the 23rd Psalm, too.

Call to Worship
Opening Prayer
Readings:
Usually one from the Old Testament and one from the Gospel.
Sometimes Eulogy
Benediction

I am a funeral director and could probably answer your question better if you specified the type of religion that the service is, etc.
Also, please remember there is a ajor difference between a "Preacher" and a "Priest".
Priests are Catholic. Period. Preachers are form other mainstream religions. Clergy or Pastor are good Catch-alls.

I've got a GREAT commital service if your story takes you to the grave, so let me know if you need it.

I went to a funeral this past friday and this is what was read....

Meditation
"I expect to pass through this world but once; an good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindess tat can show o any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." ~ Proverbial saying

Afterglow
"I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an afterglow of smiles whe lie is done.
I'd like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways of happy time and laughing times and bright and suny days.
I'd the the tears of those who rieve, to dry before the sun of happy m emoreis that I leave behind when life is done. ~Author unkown

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still water. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, theough I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runnet over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the sernity to accept the things I cannot change, the courae to change the things I Can and the wisdom to know the difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
hope that helps some :)

Well, the readings at a funeral depend on the circumstances of the death, usually. The 23rd Psalm is very common, but other passages frequently read include:

--2 Corinthians 4:7 and the surrounding verses ("But we have this treasure in jars of clay . . .")
--John 11 (the story of Jesus at Lazarus's tomb)
--John 14:2 ("In my Father's house are many rooms . . .")
--2 Timothy 4:6-8 ("I have fought the good fight . . .")

. . . and there are MANY others.

I would think that any reading at a Christian funeral would depend on the church. I'm a member of the Church of Christ and we don't have any "set" funeral service or "set" readings or anything like that. But I also have no experience with funerals in other denominations.

I Corinthians 13 might be good to read.

Also Ecclesiastes (sp?) 3: "To everything there is a season . . . A time to be born / A time to die . . . "

In a previous story that had a funeral scene, I didn't want to use the "usual" Scriptures, and I found on in the book of Ecclesiastes (can't remember chapter and verse) saying that no man had power over the day of his death. The person being referred to had died in a car wreck so I thought that was appropriate.

In my own experience with a Roman Catholic funeral, the family of the deceased choses the readings. In an RC funeral, there are four readings, once each from specific sections of the Bible, ie: one Old Testament, one New Testament, one Gospel . . . I'm sure a better Roman Catholic could tell you for sure, lol.

However, Roman Catholicism is only one stream of Christianity, and a funeral service can vary greatly depending on the sect. For example, an RC funeral is pretty strict about what can go on, but others may not be. Beliefnet (http://www.beliefnet.com/)is a great resource, and they have message boards there where you may be able to get a firm answer from someone from any one of the sects of Christianity. Good luck!

Almost true. Episcopalian and Anglican clergy are called Priests as well.

And if the funeral is in the US and you want to take a look at the funeral liturgies in the Episcopal Church (our part of the Anglican Communion) go to http://www.pttw.org/ and click the menu link "Book of Common Prayer" and that will take you to another site that I don't have the link for, but it will have a link to click to look at the index for the online version, then look for Burial Rite I (Thee and Thou language) or Burial Rite II (modern language).

I seem to recall that http://satucket.com/lectionary has a downloadable PDF version of the Book of Common Prayer 1979 (which is in the public domain).

The just, though they die early,
shall be at rest.
For the age that is honorable comes not
with the passing of time,
nor can it be measured in terms of years.
Rather, understanding is the hoary crown,
and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.
Those who pleased God were loved;
they who lived among sinners were transported–
Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert their mind
or deceit beguile their soul;

My dad died last September and this is the reading that I read. He was only 34, so it was fitting; all that talk about the "age that is honorable" and "an unsullied life, the attainment of old age". Our pastor gave us a whole binder of readings to choose from. I also read about God wiping away every tear from their eyes, etc. The Beautitudes is another common reading.

A really common one I've found is whichever (i think it's the aforementioned 23rd psalm) one starts: The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.