Funeral programme template: order of service and brochure contents for a Nigerian burial
· comtev
A funeral programme has two jobs. It tells the people in church what happens next, and it gives the family something to keep. For a Nigerian Christian burial it usually covers the order of the funeral service, the interment and the reception, and the brochure around it carries the photo, the biography, tributes and acknowledgements. Below is an order of service you can copy and edit, a programme for the service of songs the evening before, what to put in the brochure, and how many copies to print. Churches set their own order, so the minister has the final word on the service itself.
Order of service template (funeral service)
Replace the brackets, then send it to the church office before anything goes to the printer.
Funeral service of the late [full name] [Year of birth] to [year of death] [Church name, town] · [Day, date] · [Time]
- Arrival of the body and the family
- Opening hymn: [title]
- Opening prayer: [minister]
- First reading: [passage] read by [name]
- Hymn: [title]
- Second reading: [passage] read by [name]
- Tributes: [names, in order]
- Sermon: [minister]
- Thanksgiving and offering
- Hymn: [title]
- Prayers and benediction: [minister]
- Recessional, the body leaves for interment
Interment at [place], [time] Reception at [venue], [time]
Most churches add their own liturgy, a creed or responses, and Catholic funerals are usually a full Mass. Ask the parish for their standard order and fill your names and hymns into it, rather than asking them to fit yours.
Service of songs programme (the evening before)
The service of songs, or wake keeping, is shorter and less formal. A simple order:
Service of songs for the late [full name] [Venue] · [Day, date] · [Time]
- Opening hymn
- Opening prayer
- Reading: [passage]
- Songs and choruses led by [choir or group]
- Exhortation: [minister]
- Tributes from friends and colleagues
- Closing prayer and grace
What goes in the funeral brochure
The order of service is one page. The brochure is everything around it, and it is what families keep for years.
- Cover: a photo, the full name, the years, and a short line such as "Celebration of life" or "In loving memory".
- The order of service for the funeral, and the interment and reception details.
- A biography of one or two pages: where they were born, school, work, marriage, church, what people will remember.
- Tributes from the spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, the church, colleagues and the town or community association. Keep each to a page or less and set a deadline for receiving them.
- Photos across their life.
- Hymns, with the words. Older hymns are usually out of copyright; check before printing modern songs in full.
- Acknowledgements: the family thanks those who helped, by name or by group.
A timeline for producing the brochure
| When | Task | Who |
|---|---|---|
| As soon as the date is set | Ask for tributes and photos, with a deadline | A family member |
| Two weeks before | Biography drafted and checked by the family | Family, planner |
| Ten days before | Order of service agreed with the church | Family, minister |
| One week before | Proof from the designer, checked by two people for names and dates | Planner |
| Five days before | Print approved | Family |
| Two days before | Brochures collected and counted | Planner |
A misspelt name or a wrong date cannot be fixed once the brochures are printed. Have two people who did not write the brochure check every name.
How many programmes to print
Brochures with photos and many pages are expensive, so many families print fewer than the expected crowd. Print enough for the immediate family, the extended family, the high table and the church, plus a margin, and send the PDF to everyone else on WhatsApp the day before. Guests can read it on their phones in church, and people who could not travel still get a copy.
For a Muslim burial, the burial itself is quick and rarely has a printed programme. A fidau prayer held later may have one; agree its order with the imam and the family.
The reception after the burial
The reception is usually the largest part of the day and the hardest to control. Guests come from the church, the interment and the town, and more people arrive than the family invited. A guest list collected from the family in advance, and access passes checked at the gate, keep the food for the people it was meant for. We wrote about the invitation itself in burial invitation card wording and about the gate in stopping gatecrashers.
On Comtev, a planner collects the guest list from the family on WhatsApp, sends invitations with QR access passes, and door staff scan guests in at the reception. See how it works.
FAQs
What is the order of a funeral service in Nigeria?
For most Christian funerals: the arrival of the body and the family, an opening hymn and prayer, readings, tributes, the sermon, thanksgiving and offering, a closing hymn, prayers and benediction, then the recessional to the interment. Each church has its own liturgy, so confirm the order with the minister.
What should a funeral programme include?
A cover with the photo, name and years, the order of service, interment and reception details, a biography, tributes, photos, hymns and acknowledgements.
What is the difference between a funeral programme and a burial invitation?
The invitation goes out weeks before and tells guests which events are happening and where. The programme is handed out on the day and tells people in the service what happens next.
How many funeral brochures should I print?
Enough for the family, the high table and the church, plus a margin, and share the PDF on WhatsApp with everyone else. Printing one for every guest is rarely necessary.
What is a service of songs?
An evening gathering before the funeral, also called wake keeping, with hymns, prayer, a reading, a short exhortation and tributes. It is usually held at the family house or the church.