A burial programme is more than a guide to the service. In Nigeria it is a record of a life, kept by the family and by many of the guests. This guide gives you a burial programme sample, page by page, with sample wording for the cover, the schedule of events and the order of service for burial, so that nothing important is left out.
A burial programme sample, page by page
Most burial programmes are printed as an A5 booklet. The number of pages depends on how many tributes and photographs the family includes, and it always goes up in fours. This is a common plan for sixteen pages.
Page 1: Cover
Page 2: Schedule of burial events
Pages 3 and 4: Order of funeral service, with hymns in full
Page 5: Order of interment at the graveside
Pages 6 and 7: Biography
Pages 8 to 11: Tributes
Pages 12 to 14: Photographs
Page 15: Survived by, and the vote of thanks
Page 16: Back cover, with a scripture or a hymn
A large family may run to twenty-four or thirty-two pages. A small family may need only eight.
The cover of a burial programme
The cover normally carries:
- A heading, such as "Burial programme", "Funeral service" or "Celebration of life"
- A good photograph
- Titles and the full name, with titles such as Chief, Elder, Deaconess, Sir, Lady, Dr or Engr. as the person used them
- Dates of birth and death
- Often the age, written as "Aged 64 years"
- Sometimes the date and place of the service
Take care with titles. Traditional, church and professional titles all matter, and so does the order in which they appear. Ask the head of the family or the eldest child to confirm exactly how the name should read.
Sample cover wording
BURIAL PROGRAMME
for our beloved (mother, father)
(TITLES AND FULL NAME)
(date of birth) to (date of death)
Aged (age) years(Day, date), at (church, town)
A CELEBRATION OF LIFE
Funeral service in honour of
(TITLES AND FULL NAME)
(year of birth) to (year of death)
Burial programme cover design
Use one clear photograph, with the face well lit. Make the name the largest words on the cover. Many families use the colour of the day or the family cloth for the border. Keep to one or two typefaces, and leave space around the photo so that the cover does not look crowded.
The schedule of burial events
A burial often runs over several days, and guests travel long distances. A clear schedule near the front of the booklet helps everyone.
Sample schedule of events
Service of songs
(Day, date), (time), at (place)Lying in state
(Day, date), (time), at (place)Funeral service
(Day, date), (time), at (church)Interment
Immediately after the service, at (place)Reception of guests
(Place)Thanksgiving service
(Sunday, date), (time), at (church)
Give each event its day, date, time and full address. Not every family holds every event. Customs differ between towns, families and churches, and some churches have their own rules about wake keeps and about what happens at the graveside.
The order of service for burial
The order of service follows the pattern of the church. Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist and Pentecostal churches each have their own. Your minister will give you the exact order. This sample shows what most contain.
Sample order of funeral service
Processional hymn
Opening sentences
Opening prayer
Hymn
First Bible reading
Psalm
Second Bible reading
Reading of the biography
Tributes
Hymn
Sermon
Prayers for the family
Offering and thanksgiving
Announcements and vote of thanks
Closing hymn
Benediction
Recessional
Sample order of interment at the graveside
Hymn
Opening sentences
Bible reading
Prayer
The committal
Dust to dust, by the family
Hymn
Benediction
Laying of wreaths
Hymns are normally printed in full, so that the whole congregation can sing without hymn books. Check the number of verses and the exact version with the organist or choirmaster. Where a hymn will be sung in Yoruba, Igbo, Efik or another language, print it in that language and ask a church elder to check the words. See funeral hymns for forty of the best loved, and compare orders of service by church.
List the officiating ministers with their correct titles. The officiating minister has the final say on the order, the readings, the hymns and who speaks. Take the draft to the church office before it goes to the printer.
For an evening of hymns before the burial, see the service of songs programme.
The biography and tributes
The biography tells the life story from birth: parents and home town, schooling, career or trade, marriage, children, church life, titles and community service, and the final days. It may run from one page to several.
How a biography usually opens
(Titles and full name) was born on (date) in (town), (state), to the family of the late (father's name) and (mother's name). (He, She) was the (first, second, last) of (number) children.
Check it with the older members of the family, on both the father's and the mother's side where you can. They will know the dates and the spellings of names and places. See the sample biography of a late mother or father, and our guide to writing a life story.
Tributes fill much of a Nigerian programme. They are usually grouped in this order:
- Husband or wife
- Children
- Grandchildren
- Brothers and sisters
- In-laws
- Friends
- Church, societies and associations
Set a word limit and a firm deadline, and tell everyone both at the same time. Decide early whether the children will write one tribute each or share a joint one. In a large family, a page for each child and a single page for all the grandchildren keeps the booklet a sensible length.
If relatives need help, share tribute to my late mother, tribute to my late father or how to write a tribute.
Photographs, family and thanks
The last part of the booklet usually holds:
- Photographs. Pictures across the years: childhood, wedding, work, family gatherings, church and later life. Short captions help younger relatives to know who is who.
- Survived by. The spouse, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and sometimes brothers and sisters. Agree the list as a family. Spellings, the order of names and who is included are all sensitive.
- Acknowledgements or vote of thanks. The family thanks the church, the clergy, in-laws, friends, associations and all who supported them. A general line of thanks to everyone avoids the risk of leaving a name out.
Sample vote of thanks for the programme
The entire (surname) family thanks the clergy and members of (church), our in-laws, friends, colleagues and well-wishers for your prayers, visits and gifts. We cannot name you all. May the Lord reward you, and grant you journey mercies back to your homes.
There are more in appreciation messages after a burial. Some families add the dress code or family colours, a favourite scripture, or a poem. For a full list of optional pages, see what goes in a funeral programme.
Before printing, and for relatives abroad
Ask two family members to proofread names, titles and dates, and nothing else. Check that the dates and places in the schedule match the announcement the family has already shared. Then ask the printer for one sample copy before the full run, and go through it page by page.
A PDF copy of the programme is often shared on WhatsApp for relatives who live abroad and cannot travel home. It lets them follow the service and keep the tributes. If family overseas are helping with the arrangements, see planning a funeral from abroad. For the wording of the poster, see obituary poster write-up, and for the card, burial invitation card wording.
Questions people ask
What is in a burial programme?
The cover, the schedule of events, the order of the funeral service with the hymns, the order of interment, the biography, tributes, photographs, the list of surviving family and the vote of thanks.
What is the order of service for a burial?
It usually runs: processional hymn, opening sentences and prayer, hymn, Bible readings, the biography and tributes, hymn, sermon, prayers, offering, closing hymn and benediction. A short order for the interment at the graveside follows. Your church will give you its own order.
How many pages is a burial programme?
Eight pages for a small family, sixteen for most, and twenty-four or more where there are many tributes and photographs. A booklet is made from folded sheets, so the number goes up in fours.
Who should write the biography in a burial programme?
A family member who knows the facts, often the first child or a brother or sister of the person. Older relatives on both sides of the family should check the dates and the spellings before it is printed.
What size is a burial programme?
A5, which is an A4 sheet folded in half. See funeral programme size and printing.
Make the programme with Homegoing
Homegoing is a website that builds a burial programme on your phone, with the order of service for your church filled in and every line open to change. Relatives anywhere can add tributes through one shared link, and the family approves each one. You get a print-ready A5 booklet and a phone version to share on WhatsApp. Start a programme