Sample Funeral Service Template printable pdf download

Cathy Oliver

Sample Funeral Service

Opening Words and Introduction

Good afternoon and welcome to you all. We are gathered here today to

celebrate the life of NAME and honour his/her memory. My name is Cathy Oliver,

and I conduct this service as a representative of the Ontario Humanist Society.

Humanism is a non-religious, ethical life-stance based on reason and

compassion; humanists work toward a more humane and responsible world and

are committed to making the most of their one life on this earth. We will reflect

today on the ways that NAME lived by those principles and touched each of our

lives; we will share memories of him/her and we will be reminded that, although

it is his/her death that has brought us together today, it is his/her life that we

celebrate. With that in mind, our time together today will allow us to share

happy thoughts as well as sad thoughts, and memories that bring us smiles as

well as tears.

Let us begin with these words, written by Sir Winston Churchill:

“Let us be contented with what has happened to us and thankful for all we have

been spared. Let us accept the natural order in which we move. Let us reconcile

ourselves to the mysterious rhythm of our destinies such as they must be in this

world of space and time. Let us treasure our joys but not bewail our sorrows.

The glory of light cannot exist without its shadows. Life is a whole and good and

ill must be accepted together. The journey has been enjoyable and well worth

making – once.”

Tributes and Personal Remarks

I now invite NAME OF RELATIVE to share his/her tribute to NAME in the form of

the poem Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden:

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message She/He Is Dead,

Put crèpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policeman wear black cotton gloves.

Sample Funeral Service Template