"PASTORAL THEOLOGY & PRACTICE" PROF. HAROLD SENKBEIL & DR. RICHARD WARNECK CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY: CAPTION FIRST, INC. P.O. BOX 1924 Lombard, IL 60148 1-800-825-7234 * * * * * This is being provided in a rough-draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in Order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings * * * * * >> JOSHUA: How does a pastor conduct a Christian burial rite�in circumstances other than burial? Let's say a soldier missing and presumed killed in action or the victim of an intense fire for which no body is recovered? The destruction of the twin towers in New York City in 2001 comes to mind. >> DR. RICHARD WARNECK: Joshua, we have to be prepared to address the question which you put about Christian burial in these very unusual circumstances. I believe that our perception, normal perception is somewhat narrow. We at least here in the Midwest, we commonly think of funeral services where the remains are in the service, either brought into the church or the funeral chapel and then we go from there and the burial plot in the cemetery and that seems all well and ordinary, but your question raises our attention and draws our attention to circumstances which we need to consider and we need to grapple with because they're very real and perhaps more so in our current age than in former times. Let's begin with the cremation issue. This is a little bit different, as well. And then we'll come a little bit more specific to the examples that you raised. But when the body has been cremated and the remains, let us say, are kept as ashes and placed in a receptacle of a kind or an urn, or whatever, in some instances, a committal and a burial rite�can be spoken at a cemetery because our experience is that some folks, even though the body's been cremated, the ashes are going to be placed in a burial site. And then we can read the burial rite�pretty much as it is written in our "Pastor's Companion" or the "Lutheran Worship Little Agenda," those will be your sources here. However, when the cremated remains are placed into a crypt in a mausoleum, let us say, somewhere, the committal saying is going to be varied somewhat because we're not committing those remains to the bosom of the earth and that sort of thing. We might be simply saying "we commit his or her body to the elements in the hope of restoration to eternal life." That's a suggested committal saying from the volume "The Shepherd Under Christ," another pastoral theology work. But now to your questions. When the body has not been cremated, has been placed in a crypt at a mausoleum and the family gathers, let us say, in the chapel for a brief service, the remains are not present or when the remains have been ushered to a final resting place without a burial rite, let us say in a distant city or the remains are donated to science, another circumstance, then the reading of the committal serves as a close to the memorial service or the funeral service�-- well, it would be a memorial service in this instance, not a funeral service because the remains are not present�-- I hope I'm not confusing you, Josh, altogether�-- but we're addressing the situation where we have a memorial service but the remains are not present, all right? That's the setting. Then the reading may simply commend the mortal remains to God in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice references to the ground, the earth to earth ashes to ashes dust to dust phraseology in that committal reading, that phrase is omitted. But the other reading that prays that "the triune God may keep these remains unto the day of the resurrection of all flesh," those phrases may certainly be kept. Tragic death of one kind or another which leaves no bodily remains intact, you mentioned in your question, fire or explosion, yes, the twin tower incident in New York City on 9/11, soldiers whose remains may not be recovered from the battle field, air crashes, drowning at sea�and those kind of situations, still, in memory of a Christian taken in those unusual circumstances calls for a statement of committal. And this can be done properly at the close of a memorial service, which we presume would be conducted, and then the wording, as we indicated before, can be tailored in a manner appropriate. We can read the introductory or preliminary paragraphs and the Scriptures out of our Agenda and our burial rites�in the normal way. But then the actual committal wording will differ. Perhaps I can just provide a sample verbally here which you can probably recover in a later presentation. "for as much as it has pleased Almighty God in His wise Providence to take out of the world the soul of our departed brother or sister, we therefore commend his or her mortal remains to God in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ who will change our lowly bodies so that they will be raised in likeness to his glorious body" and so on. And then the phraseology "may God the Father, who has created this body, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit keep these remains unto the day of the resurrection of all flesh." So the variations are there. They're not terribly significant, perhaps, but an alert pastor will vary that committal reading depending upon the circumstances as you have indicated in your question. * * * * * This is being provided in a rough-draft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in Order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings * * * * *