Church Funeral Resolution — Member
From a church to the family of a longtime member. Three Whereas clauses, three Resolved.
1 page, one side · US Letter
Whereas, and be it resolved
5 Funeral Resolution Templates with Sample Wording
A funeral resolution is a formal statement of respect and sympathy from a church, a class, a lodge or another body the person belonged to. It is read aloud at the service and a signed copy is given to the family. The form is old and fixed, which makes it easy to write once you have seen one. Each template below is a complete resolution: change the names, the dates and the particulars of the person’s service.
Five complete resolutions
Funeral resolutions in Word, Google Docs and PDF
A full example
Church funeral resolution example
This is the wording of the church-member template, for an invented member of an invented church. It runs about 190 words and takes a little over a minute to read aloud.
RESOLUTION OF RESPECT In Loving Memory of Sister Dorothy Jean Wallace New Hope Missionary Baptist Church WHEREAS, it has pleased our Heavenly Father, in His infinite wisdom, to call from labor to reward our beloved sister, Dorothy Jean Wallace, on September 30, 2026; and WHEREAS, Sister Wallace was a faithful member of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church for forty-two years, serving on the Usher Board and in the Senior Choir with a willing and cheerful spirit; and WHEREAS, her kindness, her steadfast faith, and her love for her church family were an example to all who knew her; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the pastor, officers, and members of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, bow in humble submission to the will of God and give thanks for her life among us; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we extend our deepest sympathy to the Wallace family and commend them to the God of all comfort; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family and a copy be placed in the records of the church. Humbly submitted, Rev. James A. Coleman, Pastor Sis. Gloria Banks, Church Clerk
The parts
How to write a funeral resolution
- Heading: the word Resolution, the person’s name, and the body presenting it.
- The Whereas clauses, two to four. The first states the death and its date. The next give the facts of the person’s membership and service: years, offices held, what they did. The last speaks to their character. Each ends with a semicolon and the word and; the final one ends now, therefore,
- The Resolved clauses, usually three. The first expresses the body’s gratitude or submission to God’s will. The second extends sympathy to the family. The last directs that copies go to the family and into the records.
- A closing line, such as Humbly submitted or Respectfully submitted, and the signatures and titles of two officers.
Write the Whereas clauses from the record: ask the church clerk or the organization’s secretary for the dates and offices, so that the resolution is accurate as well as kind. Keep it to one page.
At the service
Presenting and reading a resolution
Resolutions are listed in the order of service as Acknowledgements and Resolutions. When several have been received, it is usual to read one in full, most often the home church’s, and to acknowledge the others by name. The reader is normally the church clerk or an officer of the body.
Print the family’s copy on good paper or light cardstock and have it signed in ink. Many churches place it in a folder or frame. The classmate and organization templates are worded without church language for a school class, club, lodge, employer or neighborhood group.
Where it is read
Baptist and Christian Funeral Programs
Homegoing order with resolutions listed.
Open →
The running order
Funeral Order of Service
Eight orders to copy.
Open →
From the family
Acknowledgement Wording
Thank-you messages for the program.
Open →
Questions families ask
What is a resolution at a funeral?
A short formal document in which a church or organization records its respect for a member who has died and its sympathy for the family. It is written as a series of Whereas statements followed by Resolved statements, read at the service and presented to the family.
Who writes the funeral resolution?
The body presenting it. In a church that is usually the clerk or secretary, with the pastor’s approval; in a class or club, an officer. The family does not write it, though they are often asked to confirm dates and details.
How long should a funeral resolution be?
One page, 150 to 250 words. That reads aloud in one to two minutes, which is what most officiants allow.
How do you write a resolution for a classmate?
Use the same form with the class as the presenting body: Whereas the Class of 1975 learned with sorrow of the passing of our classmate; Whereas he was a member of the team and the band; Resolved that the class honors his memory and extends its sympathy. The classmate template has the full text.
Free funeral templates · Updated through October 2026 · by David Nelsen. Every name, date and place printed on these templates is invented sample wording; each file is opened in Microsoft Word and Google Docs before it is published.