Losing a loved one is an extremely difficult experience for anyone.
After the passing of someone close to you, you may be tasked with the responsibility of planning the funeral service, which isn’t easy to do when you’re grieving.
One of the most important parts of planning a funeral is to create a meaningful funeral service program. This is a pamphlet or booklet that is distributed to all the funeral attendees and it lists every proceeding of the funeral service.
These programs are made to help the attendees at your loved one’s funeral understand the sequence of events at the service. It can also be given out as a keepsake for attendees and be used to reflect how your loved one was in life.
There are many styles of funeral service programs that you can try, but if your loved one was very religious in life, you may want to add a religious aspect to the program out of respect for them. Let’s explore how you can create religious funeral programs.
1. Understand your loved one’s religious traditions
Before creating the program, you need to understand your loved one’s religious and traditional beliefs. Ask those who were closest to your loved one about their religious activities and plan out what to include in the program.
In addition, try to get in touch with religious leaders affiliated with your loved one’s former place of worship and ask them about what should and should not be included in the program. This is very important to do to be respectful of the community’s religious values.
Make sure to get insights into what kind of prayers and religious texts to include and what kinds of rituals should be included as well.
2. Involve family and close friends
Creating a funeral program by yourself can be difficult to do alone, so don’t be ashamed of asking for help.
You’re going through a tough time and you have a funeral to plan, so it’s not a bad idea to ask for the support of your family and friends to help make things easier for you.
Ask them for ideas on what to include in the funeral service program and ask them about what religious elements they think would work best for the pamphlet.
4. Select appropriate readings and music
Readings and music play a major role in every religion as they are often seen as a way to express faith and offer solace.
Choose readings and musical lyrics that were very significant to your loved one during their lifetime or those that convey messages of hope and love and incorporate some of them into the funeral program.
You can also ask your family and friends what readings and music they’d like to see on the program. Additionally, ask religious leaders of your loved one’s former place of worship about religious passages that would be suitable for the funeral program.
5. Incorporate religious symbols
You may include religious symbols and imagery in the funeral program. The symbols and imagery should be based on the religion your loved one followed in life.
Symbols like the cross, Stars of David, and others can be included.
However, it’s important to understand that not all religious symbols may be suitable for funerals, so make sure to consult a religious leader or your family about which symbols are appropriate.
6. Plan the order of service
Once you’ve decided on the other aspects of the funeral program, you need to write down the order of service. When planning the order of service, you should accommodate the wishes of your deceased loved one and your family too.
The order of service will typically include, an opening prayer or invocation, readings, eulogies, a sermon or message of hope, prayers for the deceased, and closing remarks.
However, the order of service won’t be the same for all religions, so you will need to make sure you ask for advice and do your research.
7. Provide space for reflection and prayer
In the funeral program, try to include a section where the attendees can write down their thoughts and prayers.
This can act as a good outlet for grief and allow the attendees to offer their condolences to you and the rest of the family.
8. Consider the design of religious funeral service programs
Now that we’ve looked at some of the main aspects of creating a religious funeral program, let’s look at some design considerations.
Color scheme
Use muted and subdued colors for the funeral program. Avoid using loud colors and make sure the colors you choose align with your loved one’s religion.
Professional designer
If you’re having trouble designing the program on your own, you can always work with a professional designer. They can help you make the program both meaningful and respectful. Also, they can give you options for the layout of the program and what kinds of design elements will work best for your program.
Accessibility
Make sure that the text on the programs is easy to read and understand for the attendees. Choose a font that’s elegant but clear and keep the sentences short and concise. In addition, print out enough programs for everyone, including some extras.
Funeral homes can help you with funeral service programs
Designing a funeral program is a lot of work and so is planning the funeral as a whole. By working with a reliable provider of funeral services in your area, you can focus more on coming to terms with your loss and healing.
