Methodist Funeral Program Template

A Service of Death and Resurrection

The United Methodist Church provides this service in the Book of Worship, and it also appears in the United Methodist Hymnal, so many in the congregation will have prayed it before. Pastors adapt it to the family and the setting, which the service itself invites. The bones, though, are steady, and they are what your program should reflect.

The service gathers the people, proclaims the word, gives thanks for the life, commends the person to God, and sends the congregation out. The committal at the graveside is its own brief rite, separate from the church service.

The shape most programs follow

• Gathering, with the Word of Grace and greeting
• Hymn and opening prayer
• Proclamation of the Word, readings such as Psalm 23 and a Gospel lesson
• Sermon
• Naming and witness, where the life is remembered
• Prayers, often ending in the Lord's Prayer
• Holy Communion, when the family and pastor choose to include it
• Commendation
• Hymn and dismissal with blessing

Hymns, numbers, and responses to print

Methodists sing. Print each hymn with its number from the United Methodist Hymnal, marked UMH, so guests can find the page before the organ finishes the introduction. Amazing Grace is UMH 378 and How Great Thou Art is UMH 77, to give two often chosen. Hymn of Promise, UMH 707, was written with services like this in mind and many families find it says what they cannot.

There is no required funeral hymn list. Families choose with the pastor, who knows what the congregation sings well and what suits the service. If your church uses The Faith We Sing or another supplement, print that abbreviation and number instead. When a hymn will be sung by a soloist rather than the congregation, say so, so guests know whether to stand and join.

Print the spoken responses too. Parts of the service are meant for everyone, and the program is how a guest who has never set foot in a Methodist church can join in. Ask the pastor which congregational responses will be used and print them in full where they occur. At minimum, most families print the Lord's Prayer, since guests from different traditions carry different endings and wording, and a printed text lets every voice land together. If a psalm will be read responsively, print the congregation's lines in bold. If Holy Communion is included, note that in the United Methodist understanding the table is open, and all who wish to receive are welcome. Confirm that wording with your pastor first.

Naming and witness

This is the part families ask about most, because it is where personal remembrance lives inside the liturgy. The naming is simple and brief. The life and death of the person are named before God, sometimes by the pastor, sometimes by a family member.

The witness is where family and friends may speak. They offer thanksgivings, memories, and testimony to what God's grace did in this life. Signs of faith, hope, and love the person left behind. This is where a daughter's remembrance or a friend's story belongs, and pastors usually ask that speakers be few and brief.

In the program, print Naming and Witness with the speakers' names beneath. If the family prefers, the witness can be a single person, or the pastor can carry it alone. Both are faithful to the service.

The committal stands on its own

The Book of Worship treats the committal as a separate rite, A Service of Committal, usually held at the grave or the place of final disposition. It is short. Sentences of Scripture, the committal itself, prayer, and a blessing.

Families handle this in the program in one of two ways. Most simply print a line at the end of the order, Committal to follow at the cemetery, with the cemetery's name. A few print the brief committal order on the back panel for those traveling to the graveside. Either is right. If the committal is private, say so gently, and guests will understand.

Let the pastor read it before it prints

The Service of Death and Resurrection gives the pastor real freedom to shape the order for your family, which means no page on the internet, including this one, can promise the exact sequence your service will follow.

Send your draft to the pastor before printing. Ask them to check the order, the hymn numbers, the responses, and the names. It is a short conversation, and it means the program in the pews matches the service at the front of the church.