Funeral reading
Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form
Book of Common Prayer
“Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form” by Book of Common Prayer is a prayer read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 20 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother [or sister] here departed: we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
The words most people are waiting to hear at a graveside.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: earth to earth ashes to ashes · the graveside · lowering · the traditional words · burial.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form” take to read aloud?
“Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form” takes about 20 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form” runs about 20 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Can a friend or family member lead “Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form”?
Where a church, chapel, or crematorium has its own form of committal, use theirs rather than this one. Ask the funeral director which is expected — some venues and denominations are particular about it.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- Words of Committal — no religious framing30 secondsOfficiantScript
- El Malei Rachamima minute and a halfTraditional memorial prayer
- Mourner's Kaddisha minute and a halfTraditional, Aramaic
- The Lord's Prayer40 secondsMatthew 6, King James Bible
- Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace50 secondsAttributed to St Francis of Assisi
- In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)30 secondsBook of Common Prayer