Funeral reading
In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)
Book of Common Prayer
“In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)” by Book of Common Prayer is a prayer read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 30 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
Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay. In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased?
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Bleak and very old. Some families want exactly this; check before you use it.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: opening a graveside service · traditional · short · formal.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)” take to read aloud?
“In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)” takes about 30 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 “In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)” runs about 30 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 “In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)” 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.
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
- The Lord's Prayer40 secondsMatthew 6, King James Bible
- Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)20 secondsKing James Bible
- El Malei Rachamima minute and a halfTraditional memorial prayer
- Mourner's Kaddisha minute and a halfTraditional, Aramaic
- Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace50 secondsAttributed to St Francis of Assisi
- Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form20 secondsBook of Common Prayer