December 22, 2006

UPPSALA, Sweden/GENEVA – Funerals are a major focus of the latest episcopal letter from the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden to all its parishes. The letter by the church's 14 bishops is titled, "The Funeral – A Letter from the Bishops of the Church of Sweden, 2006."

The letter aimed at contributing to the overall thinking about funerals contains a strategy for meeting mourners – one of the most important encounters between the church and its members.

"It is a tremendous responsibility to be in charge of the shaping of so many people's farewell departure from life," Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd writes in introductory remarks to the letter. "The Church of Sweden would like life and the departure from life to be carried and interpreted in [light] of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is my hope that this letter will provoke many conversations throughout the entire Church of Sweden for the purpose of letting activities connected with death build more obvious bridges between the individual and the community, between time and eternity, between earth and heaven."

The most numerous and most important encounters between the Swedish Lutheran church and its members take place in connection with major events in life, such as baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals. Eight out of ten funerals take place in church.

During their work on issues connected with funerals for a couple of years, the Swedish bishops involved parish representatives, including hospital chaplaincies, dioceses, directors of cemeteries, the Association of Crematoria, funeral directors, trade unions and the Christian Council of Sweden.

The letter focuses on the funeral service, proposing that the details of a good service should be worked out jointly between the clergy and the mourners according to tradition and with openness to personal aspects.

The social memorial immediately after the funeral including the meal and conversations is also considered as an important part of the arrangements. Among other issues, the bishops' letter lays special emphasis on children; environmental aspects; and funerals for those who are not members of the Church of Sweden.

The episcopal letter will be sent to the over 2,220 parishes of the church, the diocesan offices, participants in the process of developing the letter, and to formally registered funeral directors.

An estimated 80 percent of Swedes belong to the nearly 7 million-member Church of Sweden. It is the largest member church of the Lutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1947.

Lutheran World Information
Based on a Church of Sweden press release.