Funerals

See what Dr. Howell wrote on Funerals in the eWorship series.

After the crucifixion, Jesus was solemnly buried by Joseph of Arimathea, and Easter happened when women came to tend to Jesus’ body.

When someone we love dies, we care deeply about the disposition of the body, and we mark the loss with great dignity and even hope – for we believe in the resurrection of Jesus, and long for the joys of God’s heavenly kingdom.

A funeral service is partly about the one who has died, but our focus is even higher – on the one who died for us, and was raised so we might have eternal life. Our clergy are honored to guide you through the planning process once death has occurred, in consultation with the funeral home of your choice. We plan music, appropriate Scripture readings, prayers – all in an effort to bind our grieving hearts to God, and to give the Church family our best opportunity to provide love and comfort.

Often, families and individuals plan funerals before even an illness or death. This can be a fruitful time for reflection, and to think through our faith and hope in God. Contact any of our ministers, who would be happy to meet with you.

What do Methodists believe about Cremation? Increasing numbers of Christians, for many reasons, are being cremated. We have no theological objection to this disposition of the body. In Bible times, bodies were not embalmed, but permitted to return “to dust.” The power of the resurrection will be such that God will bring perfect healing to our selves, no matter what might have happened to our bodies in this world.

Want to ask a pastor a question about a funeral? or about death and dying?


Columbarium
Myers Park United Methodist Church has a columbarium niches available for purchase to church members and thier families. please contact Linda Edwardsen at ledwardsen@mpumc.org or 704-295-4842 for information on purchasing a niche.


The Pall
A pall is a cloth which covers a casket at funerals. The word comes from the Latin pallium (cloak), through Old English.

The use of a rich cloth pall to cover the coffin during the funeral grew during the Middle Ages; initially these were brightly coloured and patterned, only later black, and later still white. They were usually then given to the Church to use for vestments or other decorations.

The rules for the pall's color and use vary depending on religious and cultural traditions. Commonly today palls are pure white, to symbolize the white clothes worn during baptism, and the joyful triumph over death brought about by the Resurrection. The colour is not fixed, though, and may vary with the liturgical season. Traditionally, it is common for the pall, as well as the vestments of the clergy to be black. The pall will often be decorated with a cross, often running the whole length of the cloth from end to end in all four directions, signifying the sovereignty of Christ's triumph over sin and death on the cross.

The pall is placed on the coffin as soon as it arrives at the church, and will remain on the coffin during all of proceedings in the church. If the family members wish to view the deceased, this would normally be done previously at the funeral home before the coffin is brought to the church; but customs will vary from denomination to denomination. The pall will be removed at the graveside, just before the coffin is lowered into the ground. But if the remains are to be cremated, there will be a curtain which the pall-covered coffin will go through, and behind which the pall will be removed.

Military funerals often use the nation's flag as a pall. In the United Kingdom, members of the Royal Family or the peerage may use a flag bearing their arms as a pall.