FUNERAL PRE-PLANNING
Peace be with you! Grief is real. And yet, unlike much of the world today, we, who confess Christ, grieve differently. We grieve in the hope of the resurrection and the life in the world to come. Living Water Lutheran Church, and its staff, are here to minister to you as you consider the number of things that there are to decide in planning for that day when the Lord calls you into glory. Attached is a form that may assist you in thinking through the process of making arrangements. Counseling is also available should you have concerns or specific questions along the way. Please be encouraged to call the office and set up an appointment with our pastor. The office number is (623) 266-1835 and Pastor’s cell is (602) 758-4002.
PASTORAL CARE IN ANTICIPATION OF A LOSS
Please contact the church office whenever a member of the parish is nearing death. Living Water Lutheran provides a service for the Commendation of the Dying, which can be conducted at the bedside of a loved one. When appropriate, communion can be given as well. These things can be powerful and meaningful opportunities to minister to all who can be present.
AT THE TIME OF A LOSS
At the loss of a loved one, please call the office at Bethany at (623) 266-1835 to speak to the secretary or pastor. Attempts will be made to meet with the family, as soon as possible. We stand ready to minister to you as you move through the various stages of grief, during the months and years that follow a loss.
REQUESTING A SERVICE AT LIVING WATER LUTHERAN CHURCH
There are several pieces to requesting a service. Memorials and funerals may look very different depending on a variety of choices you will be making. It is best to have several "options" in mind. The time of the service needs to be coordinated with the Funeral Home, Cemetery, parish schedule and pastor's availability. This should be done before an obituary is submitted to the newspaper, in order to avoid any possible confusion.
MAKING PREPARATIONS
There are so many decisions that have to be made around the loss of a loved one. Family members are frequently asked to make those decisions without much knowledge about the wishes of the deceased. This can make the process emotionally difficult. Writing down your thoughts and wishes ahead of time takes an immense burden off of your loved ones. Please use the Funeral/Memorial Information Form available on our web page to begin thinking through that process. Once you are comfortable with what you have planned, make a copy of the information that you think would be helpful for the church to get a record of and bring it into the office to be put on file. At any time you can update or change information that you have supplied.
HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE
Filling out a Health Care Directive and identifying who you would like to authorize to make decisions on your behalf should you no longer be able, is all a part of being a good steward of all that God has given you.
MEMORABILIA
It has become common place that families provide a table to display pictures and other items that have significant memories attached to them. Now is an excellent time to go through some of those things and put them in a clearly marked box where your loved ones can get to them easily. Technology allows us today to create a digital/visual display as well. Make sure that you pick out photos that are particularly important and reflective of the whole of your life.
A FUNERAL SERVICE
At Living Water Lutheran Church, a funeral is first and foremost a worship service directed to the glory and praise of our Lord. When you think of music or other component parts, always reflect on how each piece contributes to glorifying God. Not everything that has a memory attached to it would be appropriate at a funeral service. Readings and poetry should also clearly testify to the deceased's love of the Lord and confession of Christ as their Savior. Please seek our pastor's counsel when considering special requests. Typically, it takes three to four days for the office to construct an order of service and produce a bulletin. Requests for instrumentalists, vocalists and officiating clergy should be discussed with our pastor as soon as possible and appropriate.
RESOURCES
