X-Message-Number: 3400
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 1994 17:08:21 -0500 (EST)
From: 
Subject: SCI.CRYONICS The Funeral Part 2

date sent:  11-NOV-1994 17:02:44 
n
unique sequence or process.

     (1)  Removal
     (2)  Visitation
     (3)  The Funeral Rite
     (4)  The procession
     (5)  Committal

REMOVAL.  Once a death has occurred and has been officially pronounced, the
first event is to remove the body of the deceased from among the living.  This
happens whether death occurs in a private home, hospital, or whatever.

This is a change from the customs of three or four generations ago.  Now,
because most deaths occur in hospitals and institutions (70-90%, depending on
the area) the family will likely not be present at the time of death.  For a
number of reasons such as hospital policy, medical service delivery,
sanitation, emotional climate, procedures, and laws, it becomes expedient to
remove the body from the institution to the mortuary.  The body must also be
removed from the living to allow for its preparation for the funeral service
and other necessary arrangements.

VISITATION PERIOD.  Generally and simply, stated this is the period of time
devoted to social intercourse and may or may not have religious functions or
connotations.  Visiting may be done in a variety of ways; all of which depends
upon family wishes, local custom, ethnic background, religious practice, and
other significant factors.  Visitation includes the viewing of the deceased
and expressions of sympathy and condolence to the bereaved.  This event may
take place in the home of the deceased, in that of a friend, at the church, in
the funeral parlor, a building of state, etc.  The duration of visitation is
flexible and determined by factors of personal taste, local custom, and status
of the deceased, etc.

THE FUNERAL RITE.  This may be that part of the funeral that is viewed by the
general public as being the total funeral.  This is that event wherein rites
nd rituals are invoked to meet the needs of the bereaved and mourners.  There
is a common tendency in the U.S. to think of the funeral as that brief time
period, approximately thirty to sixty minutes long, when an officiant
(religious or lay), reader, or leader will conduct a ceremony that declares
that a death has occurred, give testimony to a life that has been lived, and
offer some form of hope, condolence, or sympathy and encouragement to the
bereaved. 

The funeral rite itself may be categorized as religious, or as secular or
humanist (devoid or religious content), or contemporary (neither nor humanist,
maybe both, or a mixture of all of them).

THE PROCESSION.  This event has its counterpart in nearly every culture and
group in recorded history.  The procession involves movement from the place of
death and/or place of the final service to the place of final disposition.  It
has been referred to as "man's last journey."  The procession has emotional
and psychological symbolic relevance; for it involves the movement of the
bereaved to the grave and then away from it signifying firm steps of
resolution to continue life without the deceased.

THE COMMITTAL.  This final phase of the funeral process is the act of
committing the body to its place of final disposition.  This phase of the
funeral can often be the most emotional and difficult.  This act like none of
the others emphasizes the finality of what has happened and what the future
may hold.  Pastoral counselor-psychologist Paul Irion has stated that the
committal that does not commit, in essence, is not a committal at all. 
Therefore, this final phase should occur at the place of final disposition,
and should involve an act of committal.

FUNCTIONS AND PURPOSES OF THE FUNERAL

Death is one of the important occasions in life that call for ceremony to help
people understand their significance.  The funeral is a ceremony that observes
or marks the occurrence of death and fulfills some important functions in this
regard.

There are many varieties and types of funerals and they all have their own
degree of uniqueness, individuality, and functionality.  To all who mourn, the
funeral enables an emotional outlet for the strong feelings and emotions of
the bereaved, as well as an acceptable situation in which to express them. 
The funeral service enables the bereaved to meet their personal, social,
psychological, emotional, religious, and spiritual needs.  Death brings with
it many new changes and situations which must be dealt with by those who
remain. 

It also must be said that there are widely differing viewpoints about the
purpose and usefulness of the funeral.  Conversation with one's friends,
family, or neighbors, will quickly verify this situation; it doesn't demand
written documentation.

British anthropologist and author Geoffrey Gorer has expressed his viewpoint
and belief that when there is a funeral service, people more quickly work
through their grief and are more readily restored to their usual or 'normal"
behavior.  On the other hand, when the funeral service is omitted or
curtailed--by choice or accident--the grieving person tends to become
withdrawn. 

There appears to be some basic human needs that are met by this custom or
ritual that we call the funeral.  Each funeral in its own way serves each
grieving individual in their own way; yet all funerals serve a common purpose
in meeting the common needs that are the product of sorrow.

The funeral attempts to meet the following types of need:

(1)  The need for support.  Death causes separation from love, security, 
     companionship, and meaningful activity, and can cause despair, 
     depression, and loneliness to occur.

(2)  The need to give support and care to others.  Those who are not mourners 
     or grievers can share their strength, courage, and other resources with 
     those who are.

(3)  The need to face the reality that death occurred.  It is one thing to 
    acknowledge death and an




Jan (John) Coetzee

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