Week 13-Mormon, CS, JW, Buddhist, and Hindu

Week 13

Exploring The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  Christian Science, Buddhist, Jehovah’s Witness, and Hindu Funeral Rites

• Funeral Rites

  • Unique funeral practices

  • Focus on honoring the deceased

  • Emphasis on family involvement

  • Belief in eternal life

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

Terminology

• Bishop-  in the Latter-day Saints faith, the Bishop of the ward is the leader of a single Congregation.
  

•  Relief Society – a women’s group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

•  Relief Society Room – a room designated for the ladies of the Relief Society to meet. From a funeral standpoint, often the room where the casket is placed prior to the service.

  
  

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

Terms continued....

• Temple Ordinances – ceremonial instructions of the Latter-day Saints Church, given only within a Temple to worthy members of the sect.

• Endowed Person- A member of the LDS Church who has participated in the Two-part Temple Ordinances

•  Ward – A group of Latter-day Saints members sharing familial, linguistic, or cultural characteristics.

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

Terms continued....

•  Stake – a territorial grouping of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made up of at least ten wards.
  

• Temple – a building dedicated to the house of the Lord;a sacred structure on earth used for instruction by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• Temple Garments-  Clothing worn by endowed members of the Latter-day Saints at the Temple and for burial.

• LDS

  
  

  
  

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

Honoring the Deceased

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses on honoring the deceased in their funeral practices.

• They believe in eternal life and view funerals as a way to celebrate the life of the departed.

• Family involvement is emphasized, making it a meaningful and personal experience.

• Their unique funeral practices reflect their strong faith and beliefs.

• LDS Historical Timeline

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

•  Pre-service considerations

  •  Clothing

    • Endowed members of the LDS church will be dressed in their Temple Garments by other members of the Temple.

    • Non-endowed members are free to wear whatever clothing in which they choose.

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

• Contact the officiant

  • Does not need to happen right away but contact should be made to organize services.

•  Determine location

  • The LDS Funeral is Non-liturgical and can be held at the funeral home or at the Ward Church, but not at the Temple.

•  No honorarium is to be offered to the person conducting the service

  • Members of the LDS Church will spend time in service at some point in their lives. Additionally, LDS members will Tith 10% of their income to the church. It is for this reason that no honorarium is given.

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

• No religious paraphernalia

  • No Crosses, Crucifixes, or any other religious paraphernalia are aloud

  • Flowers are typically welcome

• Burial Vs Cremation

  • There is no mandate for either, but most members will lean towards burial

​Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

Christian Science Funeral Rites

• Beliefs: Emphasizes spiritual healing and the power of prayer

• Funeral Service: Focuses on celebrating the individual's life and their spiritual journey

• No Clergy: Conducted by a Christian Science practitioner or family member

• No Eulogy: Instead, readings from the Bible and Science and Health are shared

Christian Science Funeral Rites

• Terminology

  • Mother Church- oldest original church from which other like-minded congregations have sprung.

  • Practitioner- one authorized to read the lessons and

    scriptures.
    

  •  Reader- This term is interchangeable with Practitioner

Celebrating Life

Trivia: The main focus of the funeral service described in the passage is to celebrate the individual's life and their spiritual journey. It emphasizes the importance of honoring and remembering the person's unique experiences and contributions. The service aims to provide comfort and closure to the loved ones left behind, while also acknowledging the person's spiritual growth and transformation throughout their life.

​Christian Science Funeral Rites

Christian Science Funeral Rites

• Background and Beliefs

  • Founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts

  • Religious text is Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

  • Healing brought about through spiritual means; therefore, members of this church will typically not seek medical attention

    • As a result, death will often occur at home in the absence of medical care so there will almost always be involvement of the coroner or medical examiner.

• Pre-service considerations

  • Prohibition of the terms "death" or "deceased,” and prefers the term "passed on"

    • Death is viewed as a continuation of the immortal existence of man.

  •  Funeral service is never held in the church

    • Typically services will be at the funeral home or at the graveside

​Christian Science Funeral Rites

• Funeral customs

  • Non-liturgical characteristics

  • Simplistic- The reader of Practitioner will perform the service. There is an emphasis on scripture.

• Committal service-Traditional, Family and friends will go to the graveside.

• Cremation and disposition preferences

  • This preference is left up to the family

  • There are also no restrictions on embalming.

​Christian Science Funeral Rites

Buddhist Funeral Rites

• Importance of Rituals: Buddhist funeral rites are essential for guiding the deceased's soul to the next life.

• Chanting and Prayers: Monks recite sacred texts and lead prayers to provide spiritual support.

• Cremation: Cremation is the most common method of disposing of the body, although burial is also accepted.

• Mourning Period: Family and friends observe an extended mourning period to honor the deceased.

Buddhist Funeral Rites

• Terminology

  •  Bonze- the title of the Buddhist priest.
    

  • Book of Dates- a term used in the Buddhist faith to describe a calendar that is used to determine an accurate time for casketing the deceased, services and disposition.
    

  • Buddha altar-table or altar placed at a right angle to the deceased altar; contains an image of Buddha, incense, candles, flowers, and fruits.

     

Buddhist Funeral Rites

• Deceased altar-table or altar placed before the casket with photos of the deceased, candles, oil lamps, incense vase, flowers, fruits, and food.

•  Gatha- the first two and last two verses of a Buddhist hymn sung at the funeral service.
  

•  Makura-gyo- a bedside prayer which may be performed by the bonze just before funeral arrangements are made.
  

•  Nirvana- the Buddhist idea of heavenly peace or Pure Land.

   

Buddhist Funeral Rites

•  Pagoda-the Buddhist place of worship.

  
  

• Service of encasketing-  a service performed as a part of casketing the deceased.

  
  

•  Words of appreciation- a brief expression of gratitude to the congregation for their presence at the Buddhist service.

  
  

   

Buddhist Funeral Rites

•  Pre-service considerations

  • Transfer-There are no restrictions on when to transfer the body

    •  Bedside prayer- The Bonze or a Family member with typically say the Makura-gyo at the bedside or at the funeral home before arrangements are made.

    •  Placement of items in mouth of deceased- It's common for families to place things like coins and rice in their loved one's mouth

      • These things should not be removed by the embalmer

      • It is also common for the family to look for things that were placed in the mouth after the cremation.

Buddhist Funeral Rites

•  Pre-service considerations-Geographical and cultural differences vary widely, so always differ to your family for what their preferences are.

  • Dressing and casketing

    • The family and the Bonze are typically involved in the Service of encasketing. This is done after the body is embalmed . Reserve a private room for this service.

      •  Family wishes

        •  May require multiple layers of clothing

        •  Additional personal items placed in casket- all items that are placed in the casket should stay in the casket

Buddhist Funeral Rites

•   According to the Book of Dates

  • The book of dates helps the family calculate the when specific parts of the service should take place

  • Is it for this, and few other factors that the Buddhist funeral is one which can be a lot longer than the average funeral

Buddhist Funeral Rites

• ​Funeral customs

  • Visitation and/or wake service setup

    •  Deceased altar- Near the casket and contains things related to the person

    • Buddha altar- Placed at a right angle to the Deceased Altar and contains a Buddha image and offerings: incense, fruit, flowers, etc.

Buddhist Funeral Rites

Buddhist Funeral Rites

•  Place of service

  • Funeral establishment

    • Most common to have a service at the funeral home

  • Committal service

    •  Final disposition

      • Witnessed cremation is preferred

      • Burial- Less common, but there is nothing in the religion that opposes burial

    • Post-burial services-Typically there will be a gathering/meal at the Pagoda

Buddhist Funeral Rites

• Other Considerations

  • Accommodations, gifts, and transportation for monks

    • Usually the monks will be coming from out of town and they will need to stay somewhere as well and they will need transportation-ideally a bus.

    • Gifts need to NOT be money because Monks have taken a vow of poverty . Gifts for monks include basic everyday things like:

      • soap, toothpaste/brushes, toilet paper, coffee/tea, writing materials, finger/toenail trimmers, candles, incense, dishwashing/laundry soap, AA batteries, etc.

      • For the visitation and the service have plenty of water on hand for the Monks!!!

Buddhist Funeral Rites

• Other Considerations

  • The family does accept money as gifts and they will start doing this from the time of death all the way until after the funeral

    • The family tends to log this information in the register book, so it is common for the family to take the register book with them the day of the arrangement conference.

    • Why do they log the gifts of money that family and friends give?

      • Probably because Buddhist funerals can get very costly.

  • Casket Preferences

    • Harwood Cremation Casket-Usually Cherry

Buddhist Funeral Rites

To guide the deceased's soul to the next life. Buddhist funeral rites aim to provide spiritual support through chanting and prayers, honoring the deceased through a mourning period. The body is typically disposed of through cremation. These rituals play a crucial role in helping the departed transition to their next life.

Jehovah's Witness Funeral Rites

• Beliefs: Reject blood transfusions and organ donations

• Funeral Service: Simple and solemn

• No Eulogies: Focus on Bible readings and prayers

• No Wake or Viewing: Respect for the deceased

• Burial: Preferred over cremation

Jehovah's Witness Funeral Rites

Terminology

• Elder- governing officer of a church, often having pastoral or teaching functions; specific duties dependent upon various denominations.

  
  

• Kingdom Hall-  the worship facility for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

  
  

Jehovah's Witness Funeral Rites

• Pre-service considerations

  • Verify location of funeral service, Kingdom Hall, or funeral establishment

    • May be held in either

  •  Verify officiant-With the lack of hierarchy in the Kingdome Hall, it is sometimes hard to know who the officiant Elder is. Seek this information from the family.

  • Non-Jehovah’s Witness persons not permitted to participate in the funeral service

  
  

Jehovah's Witness Funeral Rites

• Pre-service considerations

  • Verify location of funeral service, Kingdom Hall, or funeral establishment

    • May be held in either

  •  Verify officiant-With the lack of hierarchy in the Kingdome Hall, it is sometimes hard to know who the officiant Elder is. Seek this information from the family.

  • Non-Jehovah’s Witness persons not permitted to participate in the funeral service

  
  

Jehovah's Witness Funeral Rites

• Funeral customs

  • Non-liturgical characteristics

  • Simplistic- No use of religious symbols such as crosses or crucifixes

    • Funeral are very minimal and reminiscent of early Christian Funerals

  • Casket may remain opened or closed during the service

•  Cremation and disposition preferences vary

  • Burial is typically preferred, burial cremation is acceptable

  • Jehovah Witnesses do not accept blood transfusions in life, but there is no opposition to embalming in death.

Jehovah's Witness Funeral Rites

• Funeral customs

  • There should be no reference to the US Flag, or Flags from any other nation, in the Jehovah Witness funeral.

Hindu Funeral Rites

• Antyesti: Last sacrament performed by family members

• Cremation: Body is cremated

• Pitru Paksha: Rituals performed to honor ancestors

• Shradh: Offering food to departed souls

• Cremated Remains: Scattered in sacred rivers (Ganges) or sea

Hindu Funeral Rites

• Terminology

  • Cremation funeral service

  • Kharma-seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, either in this life or in a reincarnation.

Hindu Funeral Rites

• Pre-service considerations

• The body is washed and dressed by the family

• The body is not embalmed

•  Funeral customs

  • Funeral establishment service

    • Ideally the service takes place within 24 hours of death-This includes the cremation which takes place directly following the funeral

    • A clay water pot is broken at the crematory, telling the soul that it is time to leave the body

    • Oldest male family member starts the retort

  • Witnessed cremation is preferred

Pitru Paksha

Pitru Paksha is a ritual performed to honor ancestors in Hinduism. It is a 16-day period when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors by offering food and water. During this time, it is believed that the souls of the ancestors visit their descendants. Pitru Paksha is considered an important time for expressing gratitude and seeking blessings from the departed souls.