FUNERAL POLICY. 4. The service shall be complete in itself, and any fraternal, civic, or military rites should be conducted separately.

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1 FOREST HILLS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Attachment X.2 P.O. BOX 257 Manual of Administrative Operations HELOTES, TEXAS Approved by the Session, Date: October 20, 2015 FUNERAL POLICY We appreciate your interest in having the funeral or memorial service for your loved one in our facility. We believe that the funeral service is a worship experience in which to celebrate the life of your loved one and to affirm the promise to us through the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. There are many decisions and details in planning a funeral or memorial service. As you prepare for the funeral or memorial service, we hope that you will feel the interest, support and participation of the entire Forest Hills Presbyterian Church congregation. We pray that your faith may sustain you, your hope in God s promise of life everlasting give you peace, and your sense of Christ s love be experienced through this congregation and every day. See below the FUNERAL/MEMORIAL RESERVATION REQUEST form and the FEE SCHEDULE. There are a few accommodations we feel strongly must be understood and agreed upon. Forest Hills Presbyterian Church affirms that the resurrection is a central doctrine of the Christian faith and shapes Christians attitudes and responses to the event of death. We further acknowledge that death brings loss, sorrow, and grief to all but that Christians do not bear bereavement in isolation. In the face of death, Christians affirm with tears and joy the hope of the gospel and the power of the Spirit and the community of faith that sustain us. Therefore, it is a calling and privilege for us to offer a ministry of love and hope to all who grieve. With that in mind, all funeral or memorial services and the use of outside pastors must be approved by our pastor and Session. 1. A funeral or memorial is a service of worship; the focus is on God. Therefore every part of the funeral or memorial service, including the music and readings, should direct attention to and honor God and the glory and hope in the resurrection, not be secular in nature. If the family wants a friend or friends to participate musically, it must be discussed with the Director of Music. All fees are dependent on the amount and complexity of music and time involved in rehearsing and consulting with the other musicians. 2. Contact the church office ( ) as soon as possible to arrange for a service. A funeral/memorial information sheet and fee schedule should be completed as soon as possible, but prior to the service. Inform the funeral home handling the arrangements if you plan to hold the service at the church. The funeral home staff will coordinate with the church staff as required. 3. This service may be observed before or after the committal of the body. In order that attention in the service be directed to God, when a casket is present it ordinarily is closed. It may be covered with a funeral pall. The service may include other actions common to the community of faith and its cultures when these actions do not detract from or diminish the Christian understanding of death and resurrection. When there are important reasons not to hold the service in the usual place of worship, it may be held in another suitable place such as a home, a funeral home, a crematorium, or at graveside. 4. The service shall be complete in itself, and any fraternal, civic, or military rites should be conducted separately.

2 5. Funerals or memorials will not be scheduled in the church on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year s Day, New Year s Eve, Maundy Thursday evening, or on Easter Sunday morning. Neither will funerals or memorials be scheduled to conflict with church services, setup or cleanup. 6. At least one (1) meeting with our pastor and Director of Music is required no less than 3 days prior to the funeral or memorial. 7. At Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, the funerals or memorials are the responsibility of the pastor. It is generally expected that the church pastor will officiate at all funerals or memorials. If extenuating circumstances make it important for another minister to officiate, our pastor will seek the required Session approval and extend the invitation to the outside minister. For obvious reasons such as illness or absence from the city, the pastor may designate another ordained person to preside. Any worship service at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church must be officiated by a pastor approved by our Session. Please submit a bio of your chosen pastor to us for approval. 8. If you want to have a funeral or memorial service bulletin, please contact the print shop of your choice. Our church office does not provide them or print them. 9. In keeping with the sacred nature of a funeral or memorial service, no flash photography may be used during the ceremony. Please ask you friends and relatives not to interrupt the service with their personal camera and flash photos. A professional photographer using available light only should take photographs from the side of the sanctuary or the balcony. If the funeral or memorial is to be videotaped, all equipment for that purpose must be set up in the balcony. Ushers are requested to advise guests of these policies. See below GUIDELINES FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR VIDEOGRAPHER form. 10. Chancel furniture is considered part of the worship setting and may not be moved for the ceremony. Any church seasonal decorations (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost) will not be moved or removed from the church facilities for the funeral or memorial. 11. Pews may be decorated and/or reserved with ribbon, flowers or a combination of both. Decorations may not be attached with anything that would penetrate the wood (sticky tape, tacks, nails, staples, etc.). Florist and/or painter s tape is permitted on a limited basis. Runners are not advised as they may cause accidents. 12. The church s candelabras are available for your use. You will need to supply your own candles. Candles must be of a drip-less kind and the floor underneath completely protected. No candles will be placed on the pews or in the windows. 13. Flowers may be left for the following Sunday s worship as a memorial. The church office should be notified so that acknowledgement may be made in the Sunday bulletin. See below the GUIDELINES FOR THE FLORIST (OR ANYONE ELSE DECORATING) form. 14. A guest book is provided with the funeral home s service package. A credenza is available at the church entrance for guests to sign the book. 15. Alcoholic beverages (except wine used for Holy Communion) are not permitted on church property, nor in the buildings or on the grounds. Smoking is not permitted in any part of the church building. It is however, permitted outside the front of the church. Please use the ash

3 receptacles we have provided. Butts that need to be picked up by our custodian will result in a loss of the security deposit. 16. On the day of the funeral or memorial, the buildings may be used 2 hours prior to the service and 1 hour following the service. Additional time needed will be charged at a rate of $50 per hour.

4 FUNERAL/MEMORIAL RESERVATION REQUEST Please mail/drop off to Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, Att: Office Administrator, P.O. Box 257, Helotes, TX NOTE: This is not an on-line form - please print it out - we must have your signature on it and your deposit check! Funeral Date/Time Requested: / Intermit Date/Time Requested: / Name of Deceased: Responsible Next of Kin or Individual: Date of Death: Street: City, State: City, State, Zip: Church Membership: or Faith Affiliation: Phone: Cell: Caterer s Name: Phone: Y / N Catered Meal at Church Y/N Reception at Church Photographer s Name: Phone: Florist s Name: Phone Do you plan to leave your flowers in the sanctuary for Sunday services? Yes / No Officiating Minister s Name: Church: Phone: Non-FHPC Minister s Name: Church: Phone: Facilities: Services: Sanctuary (required) FHPC Pastor Kitchen Family Life Center non-fhpc Pastor* Director of Music Sound Technician (required) Custodian (required) *You must have your non-fhpc minister confirmed by our Session before we can confirm the date of the funeral or memorial reservation. Non-FHPC Christian Minister: Minister s church (if not FHPC): Minister s Phone: Home Phone: Cell Phone: Minister s address: (required if not FHPC's pastor) City, State & Zip I have read all the rules for Forest Hills Presbyterian Church and agree to abide by all rules and regulations of the church for our wedding. Signature: Date: Amount enclosed: $ Pd. by: check # Cash Money Order Date approved by Session:

5 FUNERAL FEE SCHEDULE ACTIVE MEMBERS Reservation Fee / Deposit Sanctuary Fee FHPC Pastor as Officiant None None None Head Musician Fee $ Sound Technician Fee $ Custodian Fee $ Minimum Fee $ Family Life Center Fee $ Kitchen Use Fee $ Kitchen Staff Member Fee ($50/hour X hr) $ TOTAL DUE: $ All fees should be paid prior to the funeral or memorial service. Please make checks payable to Forest Hills Presbyterian Church.

6 FEE SCHEDULE NON-MEMBERS Sanctuary Fee $ Head Musician Fee $ Sound Technician Fee $ Custodian Fee $ Minimum Fee $ Family Life Center Fee $ Kitchen Use Fee $ Kitchen Staff Member Fee ($50/hour X hr) $ FHPC Pastor as Officiant, if required $ TOTAL DUE: $ All fees should be paid prior to the funeral or memorial. Please make checks payable to Forest Hills Presbyterian Church.

7 GUIDELINES FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR VIDEOGRAPHER This form must be returned prior to the funeral/memorial, signed by the responsible family member and the Photographer and/or Videographer. (You may make a copy of this, if needed) Without this on file, no photography or Videography will be allowed. The funeral or memorial ceremony is a worship service. Photographers, both amateur and professional, must observe these guidelines: 1. Photographers are free to take pictures before and after the service in any part of the building. 2. Once the prelude has begun, the Photographer must leave the sanctuary. 3. Time exposures, with available light (no flash) are permitted when taken from the balcony. 4. Flash pictures are permitted from behind the congregation during the postlude only, and may be taken from the balcony or from the narthex. In NO CASE may the photographer enter the church to take photos once the prelude has begun. 5. Photographers and videographers are asked to be as unobtrusive and quiet as possible. 6. All photographic equipment that will be used during the wedding should be placed somewhere other than in the sanctuary (no going back and forth into sanctuary to get equipment during the wedding). 7. Smoking is not allowed in the church at any time, and no food or drinks may be taken into the sanctuary. NOTE: If a Video Recording of the service is made, it must be done unobtrusively. Videos should be shot from the balcony. This matter should be discussed ahead of time with the pastor. Videographers and photographers are not allowed in the chancel area during the service. An "unmanned" video camera may be placed in the balcony as long as it cannot be seen from the congregation. I have read and will abide by these guidelines: Date: Responsible Family Member Date Photographer

8 GUIDELINES FOR THE FLORIST (OR ANYONE ELSE DECORATING) This form must be returned prior to the funeral or memorial, signed by the Responsible Family Member and the Florist/Decorator. Please make a copy for your records. Without this on file at the church, no decorations will be allowed to be placed. Decorations should not obscure the simple beauty and dignity of the funeral/memorial service or the church sanctuary. 1. All church decorations must be in place no later than 1 full hour before the service. 2. Do not move church furnishings without the pastor s and Session s approval. The altar candles and stands may be removed, if desired. 3. Any pew decorations should be attached with pew clips, ribbon, or rubber bands. 4. No tacks, pins, nails, staples, tape or glue may be used to fasten decorations to furniture or walls. 5. If candelabra are used, all candelabra must have ample "drip clothes" underneath them. We prefer that "spring loaded" candles be used, as they drip less (but will still drip.) 6. No flowers are to be placed on the pulpit, baptismal font, or lectern. 7. All decorations and equipment must be removed shortly after the service. If our Custodian has to clear the church of decorations other than pew decor, which will be thrown away, there will be an additional charge of $50. FHPC is not liable for any equipment left overnight following the service. 8. Smoking is not allowed in the church buildings at any time. 9. Please do not bring food or drinks into the sanctuary. 10. For safety, no pew candles may be used. 11. Nothing, no fresh flowers, seeds, birds, etc. may be thrown anywhere inside or outside the building. 12. The Responsible Family Member is liable for any damage to the building or furniture. I have read and will abide by these guidelines: Date: Signature of Responsible Family Member Date: Signature of Florist or Decorator Business name of florist or decorator: (please print): Contact name: Phone number: address: