Service Sheets
At a funeral or farewell, it is common to give guests a small printed booklet, often called a service sheet or order of service. It guides people through the ceremony, letting them know what will happen and in what order, and often becomes a treasured keepsake for family and friends afterwards.
A service sheet can also help tell the story of the person who has died. Alongside the order of the ceremony, it might include favourite photos, meaningful words or quotes, the lyrics to a special song or hymn, a poem, readings, or other details that reflect their life and personality.
If you are planning ahead, you might like to think about these things for your own farewell too. Recording your funeral wishes in a Go With Grace Plan can make it much easier for your family to create a service that feels like you. You could note the songs you would like played, poems or readings you love, photographs you would like used, who you would like to speak, or even the overall feeling you would like your farewell to have.
What is included in service sheets?
Although there is a common format for service sheets, there are no hard and fast rules. You can create these however you wish. Here are some typical details that are commonly included:What is included in service sheets?
Front Cover
- Photo of the person who has passed
- Their full legal name
- Dates of birth and death
- Date, time and location of the service.
Inside
As well as any additional photos you would like to use, the inside of the service sheet is usually an outline of what will happen in the order it will happen including;
- Names of songs that will be played
- Lyrics of hymns that will be sung
- Wording of prayers that the celebrant will lead
- Wording of any poems that will be read out by speakers, and the names of speakers.
Back Cover
- Thank you message for those that attended
- Details of the wake following the service
- If you are choosing to collect donations to a charity this is a way to let attendees know how to donate if they wish.
Who makes the service sheet?
A funeral home will be able to create the service sheet for you, at an additional cost. However there are many reasons why some families choose to create their own service sheets.
Perhaps you would like to keep costs down, or someone in your family is creative and would like to look after this aspect of the funeral planning, or it may be that you simply want something unique rather than choosing from one of the templates the funeral home has available.
