Difference Between Funeral Service And Memorial Service

You may not be aware, but in western culture, the death of someone in a family is reacted to differently and based on that, there are different ways to say "goodbye" too. But a common thing in all of them is that they are all grand, expensive and because of this, all would require the involvement of one of the best funeral homes. To be very precise, families in the western culture use different methods to honour the deceased before the body is disposed. Here in this article, we have covered some of those but nonetheless, these 5 services are –

•  Funeral Service

•  Memorial Service

•  Committal (Or Graveside Service)

•  Viewing And Visitation

•  Funeral Reception

According to the experts, this is a funeral services for formal ceremony that is generally spun around the culture, the religion, the belief and rituals followed by the family. The main goal is to remember the deceased and celebrate the life that he/she lived and thank him/her for all the guidance. This service has to be planned within a few days after the death and the venue could be the home of the deceased or any nearby church. In the beginning of the event, the family, friends, relatives and all the guests pay their last respect to the deceased.

For this event, it is important that the body of the deceased is present and not cremated. The remains are then, moved to the church where this ceremony continues with reading the scriptures, hymns, short prayers and so on. Before organising this event, some crucial matters are there that need to be addressed like – 

•  Where the initial ceremony will take place?

•  Clothing and styling?

•  Do you wish to have a funeral mass or service at the church?

•  What scripture readings should be used?

•  What kinds of flowers do you wish to have?

•  What hymns or music you would like played?

•  How you are going to get the body from the initial ceremony to the church and to the burial ground?

•  Who will be the Paul bearers?

•  What are the proceedings for the graveside ceremony?

In this type of ceremony, according to the funeral director Sydney from funeral homes Sydney, the main focus is on celebrating or remembering the life of the loved one just passed away. The difference between this and the former one is that for this event, there is no need of the body to be present. Because of this, the memorial service can be organised even a week or two weeks after the passing away. This type of service is often used for celebrations of life, which are usually more informal and non-religious. If you have opted for the Funeral home services, then there would be the following things to find solutions of.

•  What music you would like played at the ceremony

•  Do you want to include any religious readings?

•  Who will be the Master of Ceremonies?

•  Will the cremated remains be present at the service?  

•  If so, what urn you would like them to be placed in?

•  Who should deliver the eulogy?

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