Making a funeral program when the service is days away

What takes longest

Most of a funeral program is quick to write once you have what goes in it. The name, the dates and the service details take minutes, and the funeral home or the church can confirm the date, the time and the place. Three things take longer, because they depend on other people or on finding things, so start them on the first day.

The order of service. It is settled with the officiant, who may need a day or two to confirm the readings, the hymns and who will speak. Ask for it at your first conversation, and ask when it will be final. If there is no officiant, choose one person in the family to keep the order and make the final decisions.

The photographs. Finding them takes longer than choosing them. They are spread across phones, albums and relatives' homes. The cover portrait matters most, so choose it first; the rest of the program can go ahead while the other photographs arrive. An old print can be photographed with a phone: lay it flat in daylight and hold the phone straight above it.

The life story. It is the hardest part to write, and the part most likely to stall. If the funeral home is helping you with a death notice or an obituary for the newspaper, the program can use a shorter version of the same words. A paragraph or two is enough.

A calm plan across the days

This is not a countdown. The steps are the same whether you have four days or two. With less time, some of them happen on the same day.

First, gather

• Ask the officiant for the order of service, and when it will be settled.
• Confirm the date, the time and the place with the funeral home, and the details of any burial or reception.
• Choose the cover photograph, and ask relatives for any others they would like included.
• Decide who will write the life story. A few sentences are enough to begin with.
• Write down how every name is spelled: the readers, the speakers, the musicians and the pallbearers.

Then, draft and check

• Put the program together: the cover, the service, the order of service, the life story and the back page.
• Ask two people to read it, one after the other, for names, dates and times. Tired eyes read what they expect to see.
• Send the order of service to the officiant, who can check it against their own notes.
• Check that the day of the week matches the date.

Last, print, fold and collect

• Print one copy, fold it, and read it as a guest would. Check that the panels face the right way and that nothing is cut off at the edges.
• Print the rest, or take the file to a print shop with the number of copies and the time you need them by. Where to print funeral programs goes through the choices.
• Set aside the family's copies in an envelope with a name on it, so they are not handed out with the rest.
• Take the programs to the service early, and give them to whoever will hand them out.

For the number of copies, see how many funeral programs to print.

What to hand to others

When people ask what they can do, a task with a clear end is a kindness to them as well as to you. Three jobs suit someone else particularly well:

• Gathering photographs. One person asks the family for photographs, collects them in one place and passes on the best few. Ask for the photograph itself rather than a screenshot of it, which can print less clearly.
• Proofreading. Someone a step removed, such as a friend or a cousin, reads every name, date and time against the facts.
• Collecting the printing. One person picks up the programs, checks the count and one copy, and brings them to the service.

Others can fold programs at home, set aside the family's copies, or hand programs out at the door. It also helps if one person speaks with the officiant and the funeral home, so that questions and changes all come through the same voice.

What can be simple

A program does not have to be long to be right. Each of these can be simple:

• One folded sheet. A letter sheet folded once gives four panels: the cover, two inside and the back. That is room for the service, the order of service, a short life story and a few lines of thanks.
• A few photographs. A clear portrait on the cover, and one or two inside if you have them.
• A short life story. A paragraph or two in place of a full obituary. The newspaper or online obituary can carry the longer version.
• The back page. A line of thanks, and where to gather afterward. Anything else can be left off.
• Ordinary paper. Everyday printer paper works. A heavier paper is a nice touch, not a requirement.

There is more on each part in what to put in a funeral program.

If you make the program here, the wizard asks one question at a time, and any section you leave empty is left off the printed program.

If time is very short

Sometimes there is only a day, or less. The program can still be made, in a simpler way:

• Print at home. Once the draft has been checked, print on whatever paper you have. A home printer is slower for each copy, but it saves a trip.
• Print fewer. Print enough for the family, the officiant, the readers and the musicians first, then as many as you can for guests. Couples and families can share a copy at the service.
• Share the file. Keep the program as a PDF on your phone. Anyone who does not get a copy can have it by email or message, and more copies can be printed after the service from the same file.

If it cannot be finished in time, the service can go ahead without it. The officiant can announce the hymns and the readings. A program finished in the week after can be mailed as a keepsake, to the people who came and to the people who could not.