During The Funeral Service

What is a hearse?

A hearse is the vehicle, generally with glass sides, which is used to convey the coffin bearing the deceased at the funeral.

What is a pall bearer?

A pall bearer is the person or persons who carry the coffin at the funeral. They may well be the funeral director's staff but, in some parts of the country, it's the common practice that the family or friends would carry the coffin.

Do we need to have pall bearers?

There's no need to have pall bearers, because the remains can be conveyed on a trolley, but there are variations in different parts of the country, and in some parts of the United Kingdom it's the custom that the coffin is carried on the shoulders of the pall bearers, be they funeral directors' staff or family and friends.

What does a funeral service usually include?

The funeral service, depending on the faith group to which the deceased belongs, will include, for example, if the person is Anglican, perhaps a requiem service. If the person's a Roman Catholic, it will invariably be a funeral mass; or if the person is from some of the nonconformist religions it will contain a number of readings from script, singing , and a tribute toward the deceased.

What is a eulogy?

A eulogy is a tribute or a speech which is made either by the officiant at the funeral (but generally a member of the family), or perhaps a close friend. It's usually a very, very personal tribute. They try to reflect something of the lifestyle and the personality of the deceased, so that those who are sitting there have a flavor of the life that has been led.

How long does a funeral service last?

The length of the funeral service will be dictated by whether or not the service takes place in a church. If it's a church ceremony, then the prescribed format of that particular faith group will dictate the length of the service. If the service is only taking place in the crematorium or the cemetary chapel, then the length of that service will be governed by the amount of time that is allowed by the crematorium authority or the cemetary hours. Generally speakng, a church ceremony will last around about 40-45 minutes followed by a commital of maybe 50 minutes at the crematorium or cemetary. If there is only the one ceremony at the crematorium, then that ceremony will generally last 20-25 minutes.