Putting the “Fun” in Funeral

Sometimes it is hard to know whether you’re attending a funeral or a wedding these days. On Easter morning, the disciples were prepared to mourn, but instead got reports that incited the most incredible joy! 

Most pastors will tell you that they’d rather do a funeral than a wedding. It seems odd to say, but people at a wedding are more focused on the event, and people at a funeral are more focused on their own mortality — it makes for a much more attentive audience!

Recently, however, it’s becoming more difficult to tell the difference between a wedding and a funeral. Well, not really. But there is a new trend in the “death industry” that is making the somber, traditional funeral a thing of the past. An increasingly secular, nomadic and casual America is changing the rules on how to commemorate death and mourn or honor the deceased.

A generation ago, funerals followed a familiar pattern: a funeral home, the smell of flowers, a body in a coffin, somber music, a graveside service and burial in a cemetery. With cremation becoming increasingly common, however, people are now more likely to hold memorial services (more often called “celebrations of...