FUNERAL ARRANGEMENT FOR A AGONSTIC (page 2)

What-A-Coincidence

look up prepaid funeral arrangements ... talk it over with a counselor

On an episode of Sex and the City, a young guy had paid for a fabulous party at a bar for his funeral. I like the thought of a party, drinks at mine. I'm going to be cremated and have some hand picked pics of myself up, with lots of pink and girly stuff.

wobble

I actually conducted a non-religious funeral for the mother of a friend of mine. She was a JW, he was DF'd about forty years ago.

It arose that I conducted it because my friend wanted me to say a eulogy for his mother at the proposed witness service,, as I had remained friends with her for fifty years or so, she was great to us as teenagers, and my wife and I loved her.

The Dubs were having none of it, me speaking , as I had left the religion, so my friend told them to stuff it, we held a real clebration of his mum's life and personality, with her non-believing relatives only there, the Dubs were told that they would be being "disloyal to Jehovah" if they attended, one of her dearest friends in the Congo. was sobbing in tears as she told me this, she really wanted to go.

The Dubs held a weird service in the K.H, with no coffin there, no relatives there, not even her only son, he and I and his relatives were holding a wake in a local Pub at the time, the proper funeral that we did being over.

What I learned in preparation for this I gleaned from the British Humanist Association's publication "Funerals without God" ( www.humanist.org.uk if you want a copy) and from a celebrant who conducts non-religious services, her advice was great.

As an Atheist, if my family decide to do anything I am determined it will be totally non-religious, but I like the ideas above, just dispose of my body, and then all my non-Witness family and friends can have a good piss-up down the Pub, on me,

Wanna Come ?

lisavegas420

My husbands sister passed away this past July.

She was Mormon but most of her family are Baptist. They had a Baptist Minister and a Mormon Deacon at the funeral that spoke.

Also, one of her brother-in-laws spoke...he spoke about knowing her most of her life, he talked about the kind of person she was, about the kind of a mother, a grandmother and a friend she was. He talked about the charity work she did and how much the family and many others were going to miss her. He was by far the best speaker of the three of them. His words were kind and comforting. Nothing religious was spoken from him.

lisa

Palimpsest

Maybe it's just because I live in a predominantly secular area, but it's actually weird now to go to religious funerals -- complete reverse of when I was a JW. Even funerals in churches aren't very focused on theology. As others have said, the funeral director usually serves as an emcee of sorts, and then friends and family deliver eulogies or readings. I read a secular poem at someone's funeral a few months back, and it was very nice and provided a lot of uplift and hope for the attendees. Secular funerals seem much more personal and focused on celebrating the person who died.

pirata

I went to an agnostic funeral before at a funeral home. The officiator stated that whatever we believe happened to ____ we all miss him and focused the funeral on the person himself. There was very little there that could possible offend someone of any religion. Family and friends got up to speak about their memories with the deceased.

jam

Thanks again for all the great ideas. I have considered in my Obituaries, The

funeral will be A Agonstic funeral..Thinking about it I guess that is A little

over the top, but you might get A few more people , curious too see how

A non-Christian funeral is conducted.

moshe

Family and friends got up to speak about their memories with the deceased.

We let a clergyman officiate at my Brother and Dad's funeral who knew them from 30 years ago, this would have been better.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENT FOR A AGONSTIC