Processes and Procedures for Funerals at Victory Family Church
Funerals are vitally important in our area. When a tragedy occurs to a member or regular
attender (mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, child, but there are exceptions to the rule) we
must give them our complete attention. Drop everything and minister to the bereaved family.
We gain influence in families’ lives at times like this.
Everyone should keep in mind that a death in the family can be the most difficult time that a
person will ever go through. Be sensitive to people as you speak to them on the phone. Try to
obtain the needed information without appearing to be demanding. We want to minister love
and grace to families during these difficult times.

All staff members are encouraged to attend viewings and funerals when available. It means a
great deal to people when our staff shows their support to their families. Of course, it is not
mandatory for office staff to attend funerals, but we do ask that you offer some kind of support
to the families, whether it is via a phone call or a sympathy card.

The pastor on the daytime prayer rotation/or the pastor on the emergency pager who received
the assigned funeral is required to officiate/attend the viewing or funeral. If that pastor is
unavailable, the pastor on whose day it falls when the funeral will be held would be
responsible. Other pastors are expected to attend as many funerals as possible. If the family
has little support, the pastor must attend the viewing and funeral. There are occasions when
the senior pastor requests that all staff and pastoral staff attend the viewing or funeral. There
will be other occasions when only one representative from the pastoral staff is required to
attend. Examples: If the deceased is in the youth group or a family member of a youth group
participant, the Youth Pastor must attend. If the deceased or family of the deceased is a
Prayer Partner, the Pastoral Care Pastor must attend, etc.
Guideline to determine funerals to be held at Victory Family Church:
1.
Generally, all funerals should be done at the funeral home for the convenience of the family
and all parties involved. We try to accommodate if the numbers that will be in attendance
would be too great to be handled by a funeral home, or when the deceased person had been a
member of Victory and the family requests the funeral to be held here, based on approval by
the Executive Pastor. When it is determined to hold the funeral at Victory, the preferred
location is the sanctuary.
2.
If the family member has a relative who passes who is not a part of Victory, and they want the
funeral to be held here, it will be determined by Executive Pastor on a case by case basis.
3.
When the funeral is held at Victory, as many as are available from staff and pastoral staff
should attend to show the family our support.
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Office Shared/Congregational Care/Funerals/Funeral Procedures
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Administrative Instructions for Funerals
The following procedures are in place as a guideline. There will be some instances in which these
procedures will be overridden due to the nature of the relationship of the deceased to the Victory
member. A pastor or pastor’s wife can make these decisions. Funeral information should be directed
to the Care Administrative Assistant. The Care Administrative Assistant will be responsible for
disseminating the information to the staff and ordering a fruit basket or flowers (if necessary.)

When a call is received about the death of a Victory member or family member, all of the
information on the Funeral and Viewing should be obtained. When the initial call is received,
the funeral information may not be available. Obtain as much information as possible at the
time (i.e., circumstances of death, where death occurred, where the family is when the call
comes in, how to reach the family, are there other families at Victory who are affected, etc.) All
pastors should be advised immediately, as they may need to be with the family. Cc:
Pastors’ Executive Secretary and Office Manager. If other families are connected, email
Data Entry to reflect it in MP if not already shown.

When a staff member loses a grandparent, the only thing done is a card sent to that member,
as you would usually do for the other cases.

Once the funeral information is obtained, it should be e-mailed to each pastor and staff
member. Pastors are responsible to tell their wives. Department leaders and any additional
people will be contacted by phone or email, when possible. Make sure to have accurate
directions to the funeral and viewing. Generally, it is best to obtain directions from the
funeral home director.

Carefully word the emails, just giving pertinent information. Be sensitive. (Use phrases like
“passed away,” or “went home to be with the Lord” rather than “died.”) Wait until we have all
information and accurate information before we distribute it en masse. Sometimes things
change quickly.

The funeral home should be contacted about location to which flowers should be delivered if in
fact the family is receiving flowers. Some people prefer that financial donations be made. If
this is the case, obtain payment information (to whom the check should be made payable,
where it should be delivered, etc.) If a monetary gift is preferred, request a check from the
accounting department for $75 + delivery (unless another amount is requested by the senior
pastor.) The accounting department will mail it to the appropriate recipient.

If flowers are being received, flowers in the amount of $75 + delivery are to be sent to the
funeral home and a fruit/gourmet basket in the amount of $50 + delivery is to be sent to the
Victory member/attendee’s family’s home. If it is a local funeral, Giant Eagle of Cranberry is
the preferred business to provide the fruit/gourmet baskets.
The fruit basket should be
ordered through Special Occasions. Their email address is:
SpecialOccasionCoordinator.0665@gianteagle.com

If it is a local funeral and you are ordering flowers, use a florist that delivers to the particular
funeral home. If you are uncertain who delivers to that area, ask the funeral home director to
recommend a local florist. Contact the florist and order flowers with a credit card (obtain
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March 2014
information from the accounting department) unless we have an account set up with them.
Complete a Purchase Order in the Purchase Order module of Shelby and get a receipt faxed
or emailed from the florist to give to the accounting department. Code to use on P.O. is
001/200/65100.

Do not send flowers for distant funerals; only send a fruit basket to the family locally and offer
a catered bereavement dinner or a restaurant gift card.

The head of the Care Admin. will determine if Victory will be providing meals and will contact
the family if necessary. The relationship to the deceased, the location of the funeral, etc. will
determine whether meals are provided. Typically, meals are provided if the deceased is an
immediate family member (mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, child) of members and
regular attenders at Victory, but there are exceptions to the rule.

The meal is to be provided for the family members only. Sometimes the family can be
extended — use judgment on that or contact founding pastor’s wife. It is critical that we
provide food — and lots of it! No exceptions.

After the funeral, the family members of the deceased are entered into database so that
pastors will continue to follow up with the family at regular intervals during their time of
bereavement. Make entries on all members of the family (not on the deceased person) and
copy & paste the information into the comment field of the profiles.
**There are times when we may pay for a funeral, burial, etc. This would be the exception rather
than the rule. This rule would apply to the extremely impoverished and those unable to pay for a
funeral. This would be decided by our founding pastor and his wife. In these cases, we will go
“overboard” with our care of the family.
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