Funeral reading

In the Garden

C. Austin Miles, 1912

“In the Garden” by C. Austin Miles, 1912, is a hymn read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 4 minutes read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is in the public domain, but we do not set the words here — the note below says what to bring instead, and why.

Why the words are not printed here

Public domain. Very commonly requested at American Protestant funerals.

Where it comes from

C. Austin Miles, a former pharmacist who worked for decades at the Hall-Mack publishing house, wrote In the Garden, and it was first published in 1912. The song reflects on Mary Magdalene meeting the risen Jesus at the garden tomb, and according to Miles’s great-granddaughter it was written in a windowless basement in Pitman, New Jersey.

What it says

The singer comes alone to a garden early in the morning, while the dew is still on the roses, and hears a voice. It is Jesus, and he walks and talks with the singer, telling them they are his own. The joy they share there, the refrain says, is something no one else has ever known. It is an intimate, personal hymn about friendship with God, set in a garden at dawn rather than in a church.

Intimate rather than grand. Frequently asked for by name. Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: gentle · American South · a grandmother · personal rather than grand · gardening.

Who it suits

A grandmother who loved her garden, a gentle person of quiet faith, and American Protestant families, especially in the South and Midwest, where it is often requested by name. It suits a smaller, more personal service than the big hymns. It is less suited to a congregation that does not know it, since it is a solo-style song rather than a great congregational hymn.

Where it goes in the ceremony

In the middle of the service, after the readings or the eulogy, often sung by a soloist or played on a recording. It can also be the closing song. The family may want it played as people view the casket.

Reading it aloud

Sung through by the room, allow about 4 minutes, depending on how many verses the venue’s book carries and how slowly the organist takes it.

Find out whether it is to be sung by the room, by a soloist, or played from a recording. The answer changes how you introduce it.
If the person was a gardener, a sentence before the song about their garden is all the introduction it needs.
It is gentle. Do not follow it immediately with something loud or brisk.
If a family member is singing it, agree what you will do if they need to stop.

Questions about reading it aloud

How long does “In the Garden” take to read aloud?

“In the Garden” takes about 4 minutes 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 Garden”?

Everyone together, rather than one reader. “In the Garden” runs about 4 minutes and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.

Can “In the Garden” be printed in a ceremony script?

Not by us. Public domain. Very commonly requested at American Protestant funerals.

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.

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