Suggestions for Online Memorial Services Based on First-Hand Experience
Sr. Miriam Elizabeth Bledsoe and Rev. Jim Said discuss the online memorial service they created for Sr. Bledoe’s mom, who passed in mid-March.
I’d be willing to bet almost no one reading this blog imagined you might one day need to conduct an online memorial service.
In fact, had we ever suggested the idea in many of our denominations before this crisis, it would’ve been scoffed at as liturgically heretical.
And yet, here we are.
A memorial service offers several comforts:
lament over the death of a loved one
joy as family and friends are reunited for the occasion
and gratitude for the gift of Jesus Christ that makes death only temporary
The service also offers:
the chance to bury the body or remains
physical comfort with hugs and wiping tears from each other’s eyes
and a hearty meal to follow the service, filled with laughter and stories.
An online service can offer all of the former, if not any of the latter.
Is it good enough?
Is it good enough to comfort and assuage aching hearts?
Good enough to stand in for the real thing?
Good enough, perhaps, even to be the real thing?
We’ve entered an era where we might not have a choice.
Yes, we hope an online memorial service is the stand-in. But what if it isn’t?