Funerals

geevee

Hi all, Yes it's been a while since I have posted. Mostly traveling ok, with normal stresses and strains. So have a question about funerals. My recollection was that up to about 3-5 years ago, elders were to discourage having the coffin in the K hall. With the preference being a memorial service. I think that there were letters from the "slave" about such a thing. We wouldn't want the person who has died to be getting any attention now would we? We attended a funeral and the coffin was left in the hearse outside the hall, while everyone was inside. It was bizarre to say the least, what a fine witness it was to all her friends and relatives that were not jw. Please, anyone in the know, tell me I have the wrong impression, and have read this wrong. I am losing touch with my rules and regulations jw brain, so anything is possible. Thanks for taking the time to consider this.

geevee

:-) I should have called this post "Sex Positions" !!! Any one?

tiffy0212

I also went to a funeral with the same thing happening. Body in the hearse outside and everyone inside. I was shocked and his wife wasn't even a witness, but she let them control his funeral. It was like a circus. The guy was a real pig and had a affair on her, but she stayed with him. Opps, wasn't suppose to tell you that it was a secret. The only reason I found out was we were friends. I told my husband and he didn't want to hear about it. The sister he had the affair with came to the funeral parlor and she threw her out. What a show that was?

Double Edge

gee, wish I could help, but I was never a dub. However, since being on this board and hearing so much from people's experiences with JW funerals it's just another reason I am sooooo glad I said "no thank you" when I answered a JW door knock. I'm sure non-dubs, having sat through a JW funeral would find them a very negative experience - I know I would.

Steve_C

I've been to about a dozen JW funerals in the course of my time in the truth ™ , and not one of them was for the purpose of remembering the deceased. Each was just an excuse to have a public talk, with about 5 minutes of remembering "bro/sis so-and-so"--not even using their first name.

I never experienced a witness funeral in which the coffin was parked outside the kh, though.

heathen

Is there any church that actually lets them bring a casket in? I thought those type of things were to be done at the funeral parlor. It seems kind of odd they would take the deceased in a hearse to a church .

Double Edge

Is there any church that actually lets them bring a casket in?

Most Christian churches do... I've been to numerous and that's the norm.

Gram

Most of the ones I attended did not have a coffin or cremains present....it was actually a "memorial service" and the "talk" was an outline pretty much adhered to by the society. Not that much was mentioned about the person themself, but more about the person's hope and a "come to the hall and learn more" type of talk.

On the other hand, I have attended many Catholic funerals where people are encouraged to get up and say something about the person. That really lends a more intimate insight into the person and who they were. Which, by the way, I see the transparency of the witnesses declaring that a persons death is more important that their birth....again about Birthdays....BUT, why at the funeral/memorial service don't they talk about the person, who they were, their life, etc. etc. if they really believed that their death is more important their their birth. This makes no sense to me. Sort of hypocritical. Any comments?

ozziepost

G'day geevee,

It's been a while, eh? Sorry, probably my fault; I confess to not being a good email or letter writer!

Anyway, you're right about the funerals instruction. From my recollection (so it must be more than ten years ago) it was in a letter to BOE downunder. They claimed that having the casket in the KH drew too much attention to the person! Yeah, like why the ***** were they at a funeral anyway? Duh!

They also repeated to the elders the instruction 'not to eulogise' the deceased but to spend most of the (short) funeral talk on "the Kingdom hope™".

I've got to add that in the past decade, the funerals I've attended (in churches and elsewhere) have been far more meaningful and i would think of much greater comfort and support to the bereaved.

Cheers, Ozzie

BTW did you know that you have a namesake (i.e. in cyberworld) who's in the ministry?

nelly136

i've not long been to my nans jw funeral, the non jws i took with me were absolutely gobsmacked.

note to elders giving funeral talks.......please at the very least, try to remember the dead persons name for the duration of the service.

Funerals

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