Funerals: For the Care of Souls

Death will strike your congregation. Are you ready? Are they?

Death has become a four-letter word. Whereas in previous generations, the practice of memento mori ("remember death") was embedded in family life, people today have found ways to distance themselves from death. As Western culture becomes increasingly more secular, the Christian understanding of death and the funeral appear more and more strange.

Fear of death affects us all, and so pastors have significant hurdles to overcome. What Christians need today is a renewed vision of the traditional Christian funeral liturgy. In Funerals, Tim Perry recovers the rich theology inherent to the Christian funeral: communion with the saints in death, peace in forgiveness, hope in the resurrection, and joy in life eternal. Perry guides pastors through the practice of funerals, from planning the service to preaching the eulogy, and offers wisdom for the hard cases.

Perry's Funerals will help pastors disciple their people to see through the valley of the shadow of death and into the hope beyond.

Tim Perry (PhD, Durham University) is adjunct professor of theology at Saint Paul University (Ottawa, Ontario) and Trinity School for Ministry (Ambridge, Pennsylvania). He is the author of Mary for Evangelicals: Toward an Understanding of the Mother of Our Lord and editor of The Theology of Benedict XVI: A Protestant Appreciation.