The Family Plot Blog
Different Faiths on End-of-Life Issues
Yesterday, I attended a forum with religious leaders from different faiths discussing end-of-life issues, held by the Albuquerque branch of Compassion and Choices. The panelists included the Rev. George Reynolds of the Aquinas Newman Center; Rabbi Min Kantrowitz of Jewish Family Services; Rev. Steven Tvedt of Solamor Hospice, and the Rev. Jan Hosea from St. Chad's Episcopal Church. The moderator was Samuel Roll, PhD. Here are some comments from...
Unitarian Universalist Funeral Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices for Unitarian Universalists. The actual practices of individuals, families, and congregations may vary. Treatment of the body: The body is rarely viewed at the memorial service. Sometimes a visitation is held prior to the service at the funeral home or church. Cremation and embalming are accepted. Funeral or memorial services: The Unitarian Universalist end-of-life ritual is called a memorial...
Talking to Kids About Death
A recent post by Judith Acosta, LISW, CHT on the Huffington Post provides valuable insights on how to talk to children about death. Quoting from her article: There are few words that can silence a group of people faster than the word "death." It is the last great American Taboo. This is an interesting American quirk. We will sit at a table full of people from all walks of life, of all ages and talk about our sex lives, our addiction histories,...
Roman Catholic Funeral Traditions
Roman Catholic Funeral Traditions This post highlights general funeral practices for Roman Catholics. The actual practices of individuals, families, and congregations may vary. There are more than 61 million Roman Catholics in the United States, encompassing many different ethnic traditions. Funerals usually take place within two to three days, possibly up to one week after the death. The first day after a death is usually reserved for the...
Funeral Traditions for Various Orthodox Churches
This post highlights general funeral practices for various Orthodox churches besides Greek Orthodox: Antiochian Orthodox, Carpatho-Russian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox and Ukranian Orthodox. The actual practices of individuals, families, and congregations may vary. Treatment of the body: Embalming is accepted. The body is usually viewed during the funeral. Cremation is frowned upon and is cause for the Church...
Mormon (LDS) Funeral Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices for the Mormon Church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). The actual practices of Mormon individuals, families, and congregations may vary. Treatment of the body: The body may be viewed, either at a visitation event at a funeral home and/or during the funeral. Typically the body is buried in all white clothing, signifying purity. If the deceased received blessings...
Methodist Funeral Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices for the Methodist Church. The actual practices of Methodist individuals, families, and congregations may vary. You can read about two examples of Methodist memorial services from the 2010 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge: Katherine Spates Buell and Herb Bischoff. There are about twenty-three separate Methodist denominations in the United States, with approximately 8.5 million adherents. A pastor...
Lutheran Funeral Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices for the Lutheran Church. The actual practices of Lutheran individuals, families, and congregations may vary. For two examples of Lutheran memorial services, read these stories from the 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge for Carol Ann Exley and Gail Shirley. Treatment of the body: The body may be viewed, either at a visitation event at the funeral home and/or during the funeral. Embalming and...
Jewish Funeral and Mourning Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices of Jews. The actual practices of Jewish individuals, families, and congregations may vary.
Annual Memorial Celebration Thoughts
Today's Dear Abby column features a letter from someone wanting to know if he or she needs to honor Dad's memory in a certain way. "Manipulated in Massachusetts" wrote that Dad died at age 87 after a long, full life. The older brother "insists" the family have an annual celebration on Dad's birthday at a Chinese restaurant that was the father's favorite place to dine. "Everyone in our family showed up at the restaurant, and my mother and...
Islamic Funeral Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices of Muslims. The actual practices of Islamic individuals, families, and congregations may vary. Treatment of the body: The body is never viewed, and embalming is prohibited. The body is washed and wrapped in a white cloth shroud. Muslims are never cremated. Autopsy is prohibited, unless it is requested by court order. Click here to listen to this interview on A Good Goodbye Radio with more details...
Hindu Funeral Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices of Hindus. The actual practices of individual families and congregations may vary. There are approximately one million Hindus in the United States. Hinduism, the majority religion in India, teaches that although the physical body dies, the individual soul has no beginning and no end. After death, a person’s soul is reincarnated into another life form. Karma, or the consequences of one’s actions,...
Buddhist Funeral Traditions
This post highlights general funeral practices of Buddhists. The actual practices of individual families and congregations may vary. There are different observances for Japanese, Cambodian, Thai and Ceylonese (now Sri Lankan) and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, but all believe each individual passes through many reincarnations. Buddhists comprise less than one percent of the U.S. population, with perhaps as many as 1.5 million adherents. There are...
Greek Orthodox Funeral Traditions
This post highlights funeral practices of the Greek Orthodox Church in general. The actual practices of individual families and congregations may vary. Greek Orthodox and Other Orthodox Churches Greek Orthodox funeral traditions have a number of similarities to other Orthodox sects, as well as some significant differences. Other Orthodox Churches include: Antiochian Orthodox, Carpatho-Russian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox,...
Memorial Day is for Remembering
It's Memorial Day weekend, a time for welcoming summer activities. Please take a moment out of your leisure-filled weekend to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces and remember those who died for our country. This Memorial Day, my husband and I will take a trip to the cemetery to visit his father's grave. His dad served as a medic in the Army during the Korean War, and he died last year. It will be our first Memorial Day...
Episcopalian and Anglican Funeral Traditions
This post highlights funeral practices of Episcopalians and Anglicans in general. The actual practices of individual families and congregations will vary within this religious tradition. For an example of an Episcopalian funeral service, read this post about Irene Adele White's service, from the 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge. Treatment of the body: The body is rarely viewed and the coffin closed at funerals. A vigil or wake with a closed...
Funerals for Various Christian Denominations
Many Christian sects have very similar funeral and mourning customs. This post includes practices for Assemblies of God, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Disciples of Christ, Christian Congregation, Church of the Brethren, Church of the Nazarene, Churches of Christ, Evangelical Free Church, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Pentecostal Church of God, Reformed Church in America/Canada,...
How To Hold a Pet Funeral
Should you do a funeral or memorial service for your pet? Some kind of ceremony that recognizes the loss is a valuable undertaking, especially when children are involved. It provides a "teachable moment" regarding life and death. However, you may want to keep it a small immediate family affair, with those who were closest to the pet. There are people who don't hold animal death in the same regard as the end of a human life. They can brush aside...
Baptist Funeral Traditions
This post highlights funeral practices of Baptists in general, not specific to any convention, association, or denomination. The actual practices of individual families and congregations will vary within this religious tradition. The 30 Funerals in 30 Days Challenge post about the service for Jim Henderson provides an example of a Baptist memorial service. Treatment of the body: The body is usually viewed, either at a visitation event at the...
Funeral Traditions for African American Methodist Churches
This post highlights funeral practices of African American Methodist Churches. The actual practices of individual families and congregations will vary within this religious tradition. Treatment of the body: Embalming is accepted. The body is usually viewed, either at a visitation event at the funeral home and/or during the funeral. Cremation is also accepted. Funeral or memorial services: Funerals usually take place within two to three days....
Religious Funeral Traditions
How do interfaith couples deal with their different religions when there is a death in the family? Couples from different faith backgrounds often face hurdles when they marry, as I know from my first marriage – a Jew and a Catholic. Clergy may try to counsel the couple on how they can bring their different religions together into their enjoined lives, or the pair may walk away from their religions altogether. They may find a happy medium for...