Funeral reading
Words of Committal — no religious framing
OfficiantScript
“Words of Committal — no religious framing” by OfficiantScript 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
We have come to the part of the day that we would all rather not have come to. We commit [their name] to the earth. We do it together, and we do it with love — with thanks for the years we had, and with grief that is exactly the size of the place they held in our lives. Nothing about this is easy, and nothing about it needs to be hurried. Take the time you need. Go gently.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Ours, for a burial with no religious content. Swap "the earth" for cremation.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: a secular committal · burial without religion · the graveside · lowering · humanist · no God mentioned.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Words of Committal — no religious framing” take to read aloud?
“Words of Committal — no religious framing” 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 “Words of Committal — no religious framing”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “Words of Committal — no religious framing” 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 “Words of Committal — no religious framing” 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
No source recorded.
Written by us, so there is nothing to check it against.
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 (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form20 secondsBook of Common Prayer
- 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