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In the past when a person passed away a funeral or memorial service was held. Today more and more people are opting not to have funerals. There are probably a myriad of reasons why this is so. Among reasons I can think of are the financial outlay that is required to hold a special service for a deceased person. Secondly we are living in a very impersonal age and there are less and less intimate connections in the world today. A third reason is that people, before they die, have asked that there be no funeral or memorial service.

Having spent over thirty five years in Pastoral Ministry I have conducted numerous funerals in my life time. Although I would never say they were a joy to conduct, I would say they are a means of blessing and comforting loved ones and friends left behind the deceased. I believe that funeral services and memorial services are meant for the survivors more than they are for the one who has died.

Funerals and Memorial services give an opportunity for closure to loved ones left behind. They are also a great opportunity to share memories and reflections about the one who has departed. The funeral service supplies an opportunity for the community to reach out in compassionate support and care for those whose hearts are filled with sorrow and a sense of emptiness and despair.

In my Pastoral Ministry when I was asked to conduct a funeral service, it became my custom to meet with the family of the deceased one. This was an opportunity for me to spend time with the family and try to be supportive of them in their grief. It was also during this meeting that I would pick up antidotes and little snippets about the life of the one who had died. I would craft these stories into what I would say about the deceased person. I would also try and obtain from the family what they would remember their loved one for. I would ask each person in the family what they would remember and this always allowed me to come to know the person, even if I had never met them when they were living. To me it made the person come alive (forgive the pun). These stories and memories became a way of remembering the deceased and also helped to bring closure for the grieving loved ones.

As I write, my mind goes back to a time over thirty years ago. I was living in a small town on the Canadian Prairies. One night a fire broke out in a small travel trailer on the outskirts of the town. As the Chaplain to the Fire Department, I was asked to be present as it was

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