OfficiantScript

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 too long to print in a ceremony script, so this page points at a full text rather than reproducing one.

Why the words are not printed here

Public domain. Very commonly requested at American Protestant funerals.

Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.

What it is about

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.

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 in full here. 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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