Funerals for Interfaith Families

Each religion has its own rites and rituals to remember the dead and comfort the mourner. No funeral service can do justice to a person’s life, but through ritual and prayer, a funeral service can offer solace to the bereaved and honor to the deceased.

A poignant dilemma faces many interfaith couples. At the death of the beloved, how does one honor the faith of a deceased spouse and still have a funeral liturgy that consoles the survivor?

The answer seems to be through compassionate, creative, inter-religious liturgies that meet the needs of both Christian and Jewish sufferers.

Funerals for Interfaith Families is an innovative book to help priests, rabbis, and lay people create funeral services that meet the needs of couples in interfaith marriages.

About the Author

Rabbi Eliana Lee is a spiritual director, educator, and writer. She is a retired pediatric nurse practitioner. Rabbi Eliana is the mother of three children and the grandmother of four grandsons. She lives in rural Kentucky with her husband Joe.

Rabbi Eliana was inspired to write this book when she and her Catholic husband were preparing their will and medical directives. She realized that while there was precedent for most end-of-life issues, a funeral service that would honor the faith of one of them may not comfort the surviving spouse. She also realized that, unlike in the past, interfaith marriages are now extremely common. As the baby boomer generation in interfaith marriages faces death, there is a critical need for funeral services that honor the deceased and comfort the mourner. To meet this need, Rabbi Eliana has written Funerals for Interfaith Families.