Goals of Tribute

• Personalize the Funeral with Memories and Appreciation

• Name the beloved’s Values & Virtues, Contributions & Qualities

• Define their Legacy with Unique Stories and Memories

• Put their “face” on the Departed’s Faith & Career, Life & Relationships

  One benefit to such writing is offering “closure” for families because there may be unfinished business or unresolved grief surrounding a family member’s death, especially if sudden or unexpected. By ‘closure’ I mean acknowledging and giving both forgiveness and acceptance – with both the deceased and with the circumstances of their death – whether it is a natural, extra-ordinary or a tragic circumstance.

   To achieve closure, we need to forgive shortcomings and grievances of those we love.  Creating an honest Tribute may be soothing for writers and listeners. Without it there may be a restless undercurrent or sense of incompleteness surrounding a person’s life. A good Tribute and funeral will help people feel a degree of resolution in the midst of this loss, even of a tragic loss. It cannot insure or deliver “justice,” but it can offer peace; it can offer  a degree of “closure”.  
  This book will be helpful and valuable to new pastors as a kind of “map and flashlight” as they navigate a grief-ministry within their congregation. It will also enable families to further their own healing with a 10-point checklist of Topics and Guidelines for Reflection and Tribute writing.