Memorial or Funeral Rites for GLOs.
 

I wonder how many of your organizations have funeral rites or memorial service rites for deceased members of your groups? Do you do them for any member of your fraternity(women's/men's)? Are they "sectarian" in nature, and where and when are they performed?

Yesterday, my graduate chapter held the Omega (Psi Phi) Funeral Rites at a Catholic Church where the wake was being held for a deceased brother. And we sang the Omega Hymn,"Omega Dear" at the funeral Mass for our brother at the request of the family. We have three types of these ritualistic services:funeral, informal memorial and formal memorial. These exercises are very moving and important for the families and the brothers.
..."and when we say our last goodbye, we'll love Omega Psi Phi.--from last stanza of "Omega Dear" by Dr. W . Mercer Cook and Dr. Charles Drew.

We have an open ceremony that can be performed anytime the member passes. For example, any former national officer who passed on between triennial national conventions is honored at the next convention.

I know that Theta Xi does. I saw it at my friend's father's funeral. It was beautiful. Definitely brought a tear to my eye. They did a ceremony and then sang a beautiful song about the fraternity.

Alpha has its Omega Service.

We also have a Memorial Service which is open and can be done in several different situations. It is done at Convention for sisters who have passed into Chapter Grand also.

Ritual? What ritual?

Yes, ours falls into the "ritual" category as well.

yep, we have one too. i think there is an open one and a closed one. obviously, the open one could be done at a wake or funeral. we also do one at convention to honor all of the members who passed away during the last bienium.

SAE has both a general Memorial Service and a specific Burial Service within its collective Ritual. Both are brief and non-sectarian.

The Memorial Service is frequently conducted at conventions, leadership schools, and the like, and is used to remember all Brothers who have passed. Nothing contained within this rite is anything particularly secret, but the service is generally only held at meetings at which non-members are rarely, if ever, present.

The Burial Service is geared towards a specific loss. This rite can be either public or private, depending on the circumstances (if public, certain supplemental portions are omitted).

There is a Memorial service that can be done at Alumnae functions. We also have a separate service at our Convention for members who have passed during the biennium.

Both of these are considered part of our ritual.

I've participated, sadly, in the Phi Delta Theta funeral ritual. It's one of the few things in our ritual which can be performed with non-members present. It was a heart-wrenching experience, but it moved every attendee at the funeral and was a very touching memorial to my brother...

Until death reunites us...
Jonathan Andrew Phillips
Tennessee Zeta Chapter, Bond #74
January 25, 1984 - February 28, 2003
In coelo quies est

I know Alpha Phi Omega has a ceremony for deceased brothers. It's open so it can be perofrmed at any function, including funerals and viewings, but I've never seen it done outside of the ritual.

Yes.

I know Delta Sigma Pi does, but I don't remember if it's open or closed. I think it's closed though.

I remember wondering as a collegiate if ADPi has that, but I always forgot to ask.

In Alpha Sigma Phi there is a public memorial service. Following the ceremony there is a private and ritualistic ceremony with the membership that I'm not at liberty to discuss in a public forum.

The Masonic Lodge of Sorrow (as performed in Oklahoma) is a public ceremony, and usually done as part of a memorial for all brothers who have passed away in the preceding year. I have had the honor to both witness and participate in it, and it is an extremely moving service; there usually isn't a dry eye in the lodge room when the ceremony concludes.