How to Lead a Funeral or A Memorial Service

Losing someone is one of the most hurtful moments in the course of life, especially if the person was very close to their heart. In these pressing circumstances, the deceased’s family needs to organize everything for a funeral despite that heavy burden of loss. If you are to lead something like this, there are some essentials that you must be aware of.

Leading a funeral is an important skill that every officiant should have. You will have to manage everything from receiving people at the reception to the final closing. Here are some of the best tips that you can follow to lead a funeral or a memorial service in the right way.

1.     Talk to The Family

The first thing to properly manage a funeral is to talk to the family members of the deceased. Discuss with them what they want to do and how they would like the event to succeed. For example, there may be some specific customs that they’d like to follow. Thus, you should ask them about everything in a proper manner so that you may get a clear picture of how to effectively manage the funeral.

2.     Make The Arrangements

During such gloomy events, most people forget about the guests present out there. As a funeral officiant, you should take special care of everything to make the guests and hosts as comfortable as you can. To carry out everything effectively for a memorial service, you should list all the requirements and the tasks that you need to do or are asked to perform. This way, you will be able to keep track of time and the tasks simultaneously.

3.     Honor The Loved Ones of the Family

Leading a funeral is more like sharing the family’s grief and making their guests comfortable when they are unable to do so. In these challenging times, you must ensure arrangements to make the guests respected. Introduce yourself to the relatives and guests as you receive them, spend time with them, and keep checking if they need any help. If you succeed in properly managing the attendees of the family, you’ll have done half of your duty.

4.     Personalize The Sermon

If you are a funeral leader, most often, you will be asked to give a message to the people present at the moment. In that situation, it is significant to personalize your message by starting from a brief life story of the late one and ending on the final praying for the person. You can also personalize your sermon in your memorial service by relating the story to his/her life happenings.

The Bottom Line

Leading a funeral or any memorial service is a role of great responsibility. You should be able to properly manage all the guests and fulfill the requirements of the family. Similarly, you should also keep checking if anyone present at the event has any problem or he or she needs any help. This will indeed reduce great stress and burden from the shoulder of the family members of the late one.