--- title: The church funeral — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The church funeral», a lesson of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A Christian funeral gives thanks to God for a person's life, comforts the people who are sad and commits the person to God's care; the body lie --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/) / The church funeral # The church funeral Lesson 62 of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school: 15 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/0/) — A Christian funeral gives thanks to God for a person's life, comforts the people who are sad and commits the person to God's care; the body lies in the coffin at the front, and the person cannot feel or see anything any more. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/2/) — The vicar speaks in very formal, old words, such as «to remember before God our brother Peter, to give thanks for his life and commend him to God», because a funeral is solemn, and some of these words have been said for hundreds of years. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/3/) — People show sadness in different ways: some cry, some cry later, some laugh at the funny stories, and a four-year-old may ask loudly about McDonald's; all of it can belong at a funeral. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/5/) — At a Christian funeral the person's body is in the coffin; the body has stopped working and cannot feel anything. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/6/) — Christians believe the person, their soul, is with God, and they hope for resurrection. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/7/) — The resurrection is the Christian belief that, because Jesus rose from the dead at Easter, those who trust God will be raised to new life with him. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/8/) — «I am the resurrection and the life» are words of Jesus from John's Gospel, often said at the start of a funeral. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/9/) — The Church of England uses funeral words from the Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship; to «commend» someone to God means to entrust them to God's care. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/10/) — Funerals often include poems, readings and funny stories about the person's life; laughing together can be a way of loving them. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/11/) — Hymns are songs to God; at funerals they give comfort and hope; «The Lord's my shepherd», based on Psalm 23, is often sung. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/13/) — Many people wear dark clothes to a funeral; it is a custom that shows respect and sadness. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/14/) — Pallbearers carry the coffin; they may be family, friends or people who work for the funeral director. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/15/) — Children can choose whether to go to a funeral, after a grown-up explains what will happen. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/16/) — Guests of other faiths or none can stand or sit quietly during prayers to show respect. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/62-the-church-funeral/17/) — People grieve differently; not crying does not mean not caring. - ← previous: [When a friend's mum or dad dies: what to say and do](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/61-when-a-friends-mum-or-dad-dies-what-to-say-and-do/) - next →: [Burial, cremation, the wake and the grave](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/63-burial-cremation-the-wake-and-the-grave/) - ↑ back to [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/)