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Jehovah's Witness Funeral?
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My FIL is a Jehovahs Witness, he is terminally ill and it will not be long before a funeral has to be organised.
The rest of the family including his wife are not JW. We do not know much about how the inevitable funeral will have to be organised. Do they allow cremation for example? I suspect not !
I am pretty sure that a *** up in the local boozer afterwards will not go down too well either! That's been the plan with previous family funerals .
He is not a regular attender at the JW meetings but still will not celebrate Christmas or birthdays, we do not know what his wishes are and he is too weak to ask him now. Any help please?
The rest of the family including his wife are not JW. We do not know much about how the inevitable funeral will have to be organised. Do they allow cremation for example? I suspect not !
I am pretty sure that a *** up in the local boozer afterwards will not go down too well either! That's been the plan with previous family funerals .
He is not a regular attender at the JW meetings but still will not celebrate Christmas or birthdays, we do not know what his wishes are and he is too weak to ask him now. Any help please?
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You can contact your local Kingdom Hall or ask the Funeral director if they can do something suitable, I expect they can and can probably find you a celebrant as well.
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Reading previous comments I have this to say.
I went to a JW funeral a couple of years ago. It was friend of a friend and I did not know the lady apart from the fact that she was a JW. I went because the friend I was with was going and asked me to go along.
I was very surprised when I got to the Crematorium. There was a very good crowd there.
Apparently her family were not witnesses and I got to hear that the lady did not attend the church . However, the majority of people in attendance were witnesses. A leader of their church gave a talk telling of how long she had been a witness and how she loved her family and her God Jehovah. It appeared that she was a lady who was not very financially well off , there was no recriminations that she had not converted her family nor any mention that she was a generous donor financially.
After the service all were invited to the local pub for a pie and a drink. I did not go as I felt that not knowing the lady it would be an intrusion, so in answer to previous comments, it appears that they can be either buried or cremated. They do have a “funeral” tea, and that JWs do have a drink, that they do not force people to make monetary donations to their church and just because they do not go to all the services they are not thought of as outcasts. Unlike the regular organized churches. I know of a catholic lady who was only called on once a year by the local priest who delivered her weekly covenenant envelopes and when she was ill, no one bothered to call and see her. Also from my personal experience, the vicar only called to see us when mother decided to stop sending in her donation and he wanted to know why.
I went to a JW funeral a couple of years ago. It was friend of a friend and I did not know the lady apart from the fact that she was a JW. I went because the friend I was with was going and asked me to go along.
I was very surprised when I got to the Crematorium. There was a very good crowd there.
Apparently her family were not witnesses and I got to hear that the lady did not attend the church . However, the majority of people in attendance were witnesses. A leader of their church gave a talk telling of how long she had been a witness and how she loved her family and her God Jehovah. It appeared that she was a lady who was not very financially well off , there was no recriminations that she had not converted her family nor any mention that she was a generous donor financially.
After the service all were invited to the local pub for a pie and a drink. I did not go as I felt that not knowing the lady it would be an intrusion, so in answer to previous comments, it appears that they can be either buried or cremated. They do have a “funeral” tea, and that JWs do have a drink, that they do not force people to make monetary donations to their church and just because they do not go to all the services they are not thought of as outcasts. Unlike the regular organized churches. I know of a catholic lady who was only called on once a year by the local priest who delivered her weekly covenenant envelopes and when she was ill, no one bothered to call and see her. Also from my personal experience, the vicar only called to see us when mother decided to stop sending in her donation and he wanted to know why.
This is why people need to be pre-emptive and make a will early on. If he has not made his wishes known then his next if kin, his wife most likely, and/or children will have the task of planning the funeral anyhow they like. They may or may not abide by his religioys beliefs and do not have to do so if he hasnt made his wishes clear legally. His JW group may have to hold their own individual memorial service for him if they wish but the official ceremony and burial will be chosen by his legal next of kin.
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