Christian funeral service for any god-fearing Christian implies a celebration of the soul's eternal journey to the life after death. Funeral services and ceremonies are uplifting, owing to the positive belief that the departed soul has finally found an eternal home in God's abode.
Christians believe death to be an entry into the world of continual bliss and permanent exit from this world of pain and agony. It gives some solace to the bereaved family that the deceased is with God Himself and is enjoying heavenly bliss. This immensely helps in alleviating the pain that death of the person causes. The Christian funeral ceremony is organized accordingly with the same belief.
Christian funeral service is generally officiated by the pastor. The funeral service generally takes place at the church which the deceased visited regularly. Though a casket is not used in the service generally, but when it is being conducted in a funeral home, casket is generally present. Usually, Christian funeral ceremony does not have the practice of exhibiting the body of the deceased person.
The funeral ceremony is more of a memorial, in which the proceedings begin with singing of hymns, a vocalist, and readings from the Bible. A brief message is given by the priest, after which a mass prayer is held.
Then the attendees share the grief of family members as well as close friends and tell about their personal experiences as to how the deceased has influenced them and created an everlasting impression on their minds. Some families also opt for doing a visual display of pictures of the deceased or play a recorded video from the life of the departed.
The service eventually ends with a short fellowship reception at the church, where food is served. A graveside service is generally not included, but some Christian communities have this as well.
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