RE: Secular Funeral
January 8, 2015 at 5:20 pm
(This post was last modified: January 8, 2015 at 5:27 pm by Jenny A.)
(January 8, 2015 at 4:41 pm)abaris Wrote: Sorry for your loss.
Sadly I haven't got any experience with secular funerals either, but your plan sounds great. Just be aware that the people attending are the unknown factor in all this. Naturally I don't know about your invitation list, but someone might feel compelled to smuggle god in.
One of the speakers may bring up god. That would be okay. What we're really trying to avoid is the invocation of god, sermon, and group prayer. If the funeral home's director sounds like to do anything like that, we'll do the opening and closing ourselves. I'd just rather not. I'm probably going to cry through my bit as is. And my brother is when of those guys who cries.
(January 8, 2015 at 4:59 pm)Phronz Wrote: Sorry to hear that. My grandfather was an atheist, and when he died we threw a party (at his request). He said, and I quote, "Get drunk, dance, just don't fucking cry over me." So maybe throw a party/celebration of his life?
That sounds lovely, but Dad wasn't that sort of guy. Also the bulk of the people there are going to be either over 75 or under 17.
(January 8, 2015 at 5:15 pm)JuliaL Wrote: . My Dad died 7 years ago.
We had a nice get together in the Unitarian Universalist church where he had attended. Several speakers from his life and interests got up and said nice things without any mysticism at all. All that was followed by a dinner in a cafeteria where we children had set up some displays commemorating his achievements at work and otherwise.
Only us kids had attended his last moments in the assisted living facility. My sister the doctor and I were there at the last because our brother had stepped out just a minute, for what I don't remember. We did have a hospice person in earlier but none of us really needed their help and Dad wasn't really there. We were pretty firm that no clerics need attend. Dad wasn't anti-theist, but he never showed any indication of believing in anything other than reality. If anything, he was a full bore 200% humanist and very engaged in bettering humankind, particularly the downtrodden. Gave lots of $$$ to the Southern Poverty Law Center and Klanwatch. We're really proud that the government kept files on him.
No crying that I remember.
Death sucks, but fear of death sucks more.
I like the posters commemorating achievements idea. Dad would like that. He was proud of his career.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
