Funeral service order
Graveside or committal: the order of service, minute by minute
A Graveside or committal runs about 30 minutes and has 9 parts, from the gathering at the graveside to the dismissal. 6 of them are the ones that hold the service together; the rest depend on the family.
At the grave. Short, outdoors, and often without a microphone.
Runs 15–20 minutes after a chapel service earlier the same day, 30–60 as the family’s only service. Weather and cemetery rules move it.
The running order
Times are clocked from an 11:00 AM start — the funeral director’s schedule sets yours.
Gathering at the gravesideoptional
The family is seated under the canopy; others gather around.
Opening words
You open the service.
Opening prayer or reading
A prayer, or a secular opening reading.
Readingoptional
Scripture or poetry chosen by the family.
Brief reflection
Short remarks on their life. Kept short here.
Words of committal
The formal committal of the body or ashes.
Closing prayer
The final prayer or blessing.
Final goodbyeoptional
A flower placed, earth turned, or another closing gesture.
Dismissal
You release the guests and note where to go next.
This is a run-sheet — the timing tool the person leading the service holds, with the clock running down the margin. It is not the printed order of service handed to guests at the door. The funeral home or the family usually prints that, and the two need to agree, so send whoever is printing it your final running order.
Questions
How long is a Graveside or committal?
A Graveside or committal runs about 30 minutes and has 9 parts, from the gathering at the graveside to the dismissal: gathering at the graveside 5, opening words 2, opening prayer or reading 3, reading 3, brief reflection 8, words of committal 3, closing prayer 2, final goodbye 6, dismissal 1 — minutes per part, worked out at a spoken pace of roughly 130 words a minute plus the movement around each one. These are the same figures the run-sheet uses.
What comes first in a Graveside or committal?
Gathering at the graveside. The family is seated under the canopy; others gather around. It runs about 5 minutes, and it is what the clock starts on — 11:00 AM in the example below.
What can be left out of a Graveside or committal?
Gathering at the graveside, Reading, Final goodbye — none of these is required, and cutting them is how you get the service back inside the time you were given. The rest carry the shape.
Is this the same as the printed order of service?
This is a run-sheet — the timing tool the person leading the service holds, with the clock running down the margin. It is not the printed order of service handed to guests at the door. The funeral home or the family usually prints that, and the two need to agree, so send whoever is printing it your final running order.
This is the shape. The words are the other half.
Answer some questions about them and get this running order filled in with a full word-for-word script, cue cards for each part, a day-of checklist, and a sheet on what the funeral director handles.
Other shapes
- Celebration of life (secular)70 minNo liturgy. Built entirely around the person and the people who knew them.
- Christian service (non-denominational)60 minScripture, prayer, and a message of comfort, without denomination-specific liturgy.
- Protestant service (mainline)60 minEpiscopal, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Baptist practice, with set liturgy woven through.
- Catholic vigil (wake service)39 minThe evening gathering before the funeral — the part of Catholic practice a layperson may lead.
- Jewish funeral55 minPsalms, hesped, and the graveside — traditionally led by a rabbi or cantor.
- Memorial service60 minHeld after burial or cremation — no casket present, and more room to shape it.