Sample Funeral Service Template (Page 3 of 3) in pdf

Cathy Oliver

that your energy has not died. You want the physicist to remind your sobbing

mother about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in

the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your mother to know that all your

energy, every vibration, every BTU of heat, every wave of every particle that was

her beloved child remains with her in this world. You want the physicist to tell

your weeping father that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you

got.

And at one point you'd hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit

and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell him that all the

photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were

interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of

particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you. And as

your widow rocks in the arms of a loving family, may the physicist let her know

that all the photons that bounced from you were gathered in the particle

detectors that are her eyes, that those photons created within her constellations

of electromagnetically charged neurons whose energy will go on forever.

And the physicist will remind the congregation of how much of all our energy is

given off as heat. There may be a few fanning themselves with their programs as

he says it. And he will tell them that the warmth that flowed through you in life is

still here, still part of all that we are, even as we who mourn continue the heat of

our own lives.

And you'll want the physicist to explain to those who loved you that they need

not have faith; indeed, they should not have faith. Let them know that they can

measure, that scientists have measured precisely the conservation of energy and

found it accurate, verifiable and consistent across space and time. You can hope

your family will examine the evidence and satisfy themselves that the science is

sound and that they'll be comforted to know your energy's still around. According

to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you're just less

orderly. Amen.

Concluding Words

Ladies and Gentlemen, this concludes our service for NAME. As we take our

leave, we will remember that the best answer to death is the continuing

affirmation of life; may the love of friends, joyful memories, and hope for the

future give you the peace and strength to live your lives enthusiastically and

beautifully.

We will bid our final farewell to NAME with Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s beautiful

medley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World, after

which the family invites you all to join them in the reception room for

refreshments, fellowship and cheer. Thank you.

Sample Funeral Service Template Page 3