[BertBeagle]

My mother and her sister as well as their mother and father (my grandparents) were Jehovah's Witnesses - all deceased. The funerals were not unlike funerals in other churches / funeral homes I have been to except for one important differences. Different ones from the church talk. Very well done.

As for my mother, one of her best friends in the church is my age and in the same business as me. He came to me and asked if I would mind if he spoke as did a couple of others from the church. When I encouraged them to do so then each wanted to give me an outline of what they would say and I refused saying that I felt that whatever they chose to say would be appropriate and well received. I was amazed at what they said. They were not trying to evoke emotion or make people cry like I have heard at funerals in other churches. In the truest sense what they did and said was a celebration of my mothers life. I was able to get thru it without braking down and have them to thank for that. I couldn't thank them enough.

Everyone committed on how good the service was. There was no issue of feeling welcome or not - "us and them" - etc.