Order of Service Template: Copy and Fill In

The order of service is the one part of a program the officiant will check, so it is worth getting right the first time. Below are four templates, each in the order those services actually run. Fill the brackets, delete a line you are not using, and leave the rest.

1. Traditional funeral (church or chapel, about 45 minutes)

Prelude  ·  [organist or recorded music]
Processional  ·  [family enters]
Welcome and Opening Prayer  ·  [officiant]
Hymn  ·  [title]
Old Testament Reading  ·  [reference]  ·  [reader]
New Testament Reading  ·  [reference]  ·  [reader]
Musical Selection  ·  [title]  ·  [performer]
Reading of the Obituary  ·  [reader, or "read silently"]
Reflections  ·  [two or three named speakers, two minutes each]
Eulogy  ·  [speaker]
Message  ·  [officiant]
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Recessional  ·  [hymn or recorded music]
Interment  ·  [cemetery], immediately following

The two places families put things out of order: the eulogy goes before the officiant's message, not after, and the obituary is read before the reflections, so the speakers do not repeat it. The full guide to this service explains each entry.

2. Catholic funeral Mass (about 60 minutes)

Most of the Mass is fixed. The family chooses the readings, the hymns, the readers and the gift-bearers, and whether there are words of remembrance, which come at the end and are limited to one speaker, briefly.

Reception of the Body at the Door
Entrance Hymn  ·  [title]
Opening Prayer
First Reading  ·  [Old Testament reference]  ·  [reader]
Responsorial Psalm  ·  [psalm]
Second Reading  ·  [New Testament reference]  ·  [reader]
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel  ·  [reference]  ·  [celebrant]
Homily
Prayers of the Faithful  ·  [reader]
Presentation of the Gifts  ·  [names]
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Communion Hymn  ·  [title]
Words of Remembrance  ·  [one speaker, if permitted]
Final Commendation
Recessional Hymn  ·  [title]
Rite of Committal  ·  [cemetery]

Check the readings with the parish; they will have a list of approved ones. The Catholic Mass guide covers the choices in detail.

3. Celebration of life (about 40 to 60 minutes)

No liturgy, so the order is yours. This one works because it gives the sharing a boundary; an open microphone with no end is the thing that goes wrong most often.

Gathering  ·  [their music playing, slideshow running]
Welcome  ·  [host, a family member or friend, not a clergy member unless wanted]
Opening Words or Reading  ·  [a poem or passage they loved]
Their Story  ·  [one speaker, five to eight minutes]
Music  ·  [a song they loved, played or performed]
Memories  ·  [three or four invited speakers, three minutes each]
Open Sharing  ·  [fifteen minutes, host keeps time]
Video or Photo Tribute
Closing Words  ·  [host]
A Toast, a Song or a Moment of Silence
Reception  ·  [food and where]

The celebration of life guide has ideas for each part and how to word the invitation.

4. Graveside or committal service (about 15 to 20 minutes)

Short, standing, often cold. Nothing here should need a program to follow, but one is still printed, because people keep them.

Gathering at the Graveside
Opening Words  ·  [officiant]
Scripture or Reading  ·  [reference]  ·  [reader]
Words of Remembrance  ·  [one speaker, brief]
Prayer of Committal
The Lord's Prayer  ·  [all]
Military Honors  ·  [if applicable: flag folding, Taps]
Placing of Flowers
Closing Blessing
Reception  ·  [where, if any]

See the graveside guide for what to bring and how to handle weather, and the military honors guide if a flag will be presented.

Filling the blanks: three rules

• Every reader is asked before they are printed. A name on the program is a promise made on their behalf.
• Titles for clergy, first names for family. "Rev. Thomas Greer" and "Anne Doyle Martin", not "Pastor Tom" and "Mrs. Martin".
• Time limits go in the program for open sharing and reflections, in small type. It is easier for a piece of paper to say "two minutes" than for a grieving host to.