February 1999
The Director - Features
Funerals Without God
Serving survivors through non-traditional services
A significant percentage of people are now choosing no preference as their religious option. As a result, many funeral directors who are accustomed to serving families with religious beliefs similiar to their own are being challenged to accept requests that fall outside their normal comfort level.
Funerals Without God—Serving survivors through non-traditional services, written by David W. Brooks and J. Mark Spiegel, discusses how funeral directors can provide caring, meaningful services to families that have no religious affiliation and help them express their feelings with non-religious rituals. Along with six steps to make a non-religious service meaningful, the article illustrates an example of a non-religious service format. It also includes a list of phases funeral directors should avoid saying to a family.
Brooks, a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve with the rank of colonel, has ministered through a local hospice organization and presented at numerous state and national conferences on spiritual care. Presently, Brooks consults with health care and service providers on matters related to spiritual care. Brooks was graduated from West Point and holds the Master of Divinity from Southern Seminary, a M.B.A. from University of Tampa, and a Master of Public Service from Western Kentucky University.
Spiegel is the senior chaplain for LifePath Hospice in Tampa, Florida. He received his A.B. from Mercer University and his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Vanderbilt University. He has served on the faculty of National Hospice Organization since 1992.
