Heavenly Send-off Service

Definition and Meaning

A heavenly send-off service is a name given to the funeral service held when a believer dies, expressing the idea of "sending the person off to heaven." The Korean term hwansong (歡送) means to send off a departing person with joy. The name reflects an intention to treat a funeral not merely as an occasion of grief but as one that bears witness to the hope of the resurrection and of heaven. The term usually refers to the funeral departure service held before the procession leaves for the burial site, though it is sometimes applied to the funeral service as a whole. It is generally regarded as an expression widely used in local congregations and funeral settings rather than an official name found in denominational constitutions or books of worship.

Biblical and Historical Background

Passages frequently cited in support of the name include 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14, which exhorts believers not to sorrow "even as others which have no hope"; 2 Corinthians 5:8, which speaks of being "willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord"; and Philippians 1:21–23, which declares that "to die is gain." The early church is known to have commemorated the day of a martyr's death as the martyr's birthday into heaven. After the Reformation, Protestants rejected Masses and prayers for the dead, understanding the funeral instead as an occasion for worshiping God and comforting the bereaved. Korean Protestantism developed a funeral culture that replaced the ritual wailing (gok, 哭) and ancestral rites of traditional mourning customs with hymns and prayer. The name can be seen as having taken root within this development.

Practice in Korean Churches

The typical order of service consists of a silent prayer or hymn, prayer, Scripture reading, sermon, a hymn expressing the hope of the resurrection, and the benediction, after which the coffin is carried out. The service is commonly preceded by an encoffining service and followed by a committal service, and the congregation often conducts the entire sequence together as part of the Christian funeral process.

Opinions differ regarding the name.

• Those who favor it point out that it clearly confesses faith in the resurrection in the face of death and offers comfort and hope to the bereaved.
• Those who urge caution offer different reasons. Some pastors and theologians, particularly in the Reformed tradition, hold that a funeral service is not a rite performed for the deceased but worship offered to God. They also note that the eternal destiny of the deceased is for God to judge, and that an overly cheerful name may hastily cover over the grief of the bereaved. For these reasons they suggest names such as "funeral service" or "funeral departure service."
• The Anglican Church of Korea follows the burial rite of its prayer book, which is known to include prayers commending the deceased to God.
• When the deceased was not a believer, a service of comfort for the bereaved is sometimes held instead of a service bearing this name.