Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» Never attended a Memorial Service. Does it celebrate the life of the dearly beloved while a Funeral mourns the death?
The terms are used interchangeably, just as the words coffin and casket are used to indicate the same. The only difference in usage is that in most cases, the deceased is present at a funeral. In cases where cremation, body donation, or the body isn't recovered and the service isn't held for a week or two, the word memorial is used in obituaries and notifications. All else usually remains the same.
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the burial, cremation, or interment of a corpse, or the burial (or equivalent) with the attendant observances. (From Wikipedia)
And I have been to funerals. (But I try to avoid going.)
Turns out I never knew what a "Memorial Service is, but I do now.
A memorial service is a ceremony for memorializing someone who has died that takes place after the body has been buried or cremated. Memorial services can take place any time after the death, from a week to a year.
I went to one for my mom and everyone that had died that month at a church she attended.
The priest (Catholic, of course) started using the podium as a sounding board for FOX News and complimenting FOX NEWS. I could not believe what I was hearing. My mom would have rolled over in her grave. I told my family in Chicago I would attend for them, so I could not just walk out. I was so insulted by this. I was reminded WHY I cannot take Christians and their insane ideas any more. Who talks about politics in CHURCH?
Anyway, I celebrate my mom in private. And MOST memorial services are just beautiful.
In the first half of the 20th century it was not unusual for the parish priest to tell you on Sunday how you should vote. This same ridiculous concept occurred in California in 2016 according to the news then.
Ordination to the priesthood has never been known to confer any knowledge of politics to the newly ordained priest.
officegirl 