A Helpful Guide from Archway Funeral Service, Derbyshire

When arranging a funeral, one of the details that often holds deep personal meaning is the Order of Service. This small booklet acts as both a guide for guests and a keepsake to treasure long after the day itself. At Archway Funeral Service, we help families across Derbyshire, Crich, Alfreton, and surrounding areas create beautifully designed and meaningful Orders of Service that truly reflect the person being remembered.

What Is an Order of Service?

An Order of Service is a printed booklet given to those attending the funeral. It outlines the structure of the ceremony — including hymns, readings, music, and any special tributes — allowing mourners to follow along and participate. More than that, it serves as a personal memento, a tangible way to honour a loved one’s life and legacy.

What to Include in an Order of Service

While every funeral is unique, most Orders of Service follow a similar structure. Here’s what you might include:

1. Front Cover

The cover usually features:

• The full name of your loved one

• Dates of birth and passing

• A favourite photograph

• The date, time, and location of the funeral service

Some families also choose to include a meaningful quote, prayer, or line of poetry that reflects their loved one’s personality or beliefs.

2. Welcome and Introduction

This section may include a short welcome or opening words from the officiant or celebrant, setting the tone for the service.

3. Order of Events

Here you’ll outline the sequence of the service. For example:

If the funeral is religious, you might also include prayers or scripture readings. For non-religious or celebration-of-life services, this might instead include personal reflections, favourite songs, or stories.

4. Words, Readings, or Lyrics

Including the full text of hymns, songs, or readings allows everyone to take part, especially if they’re unfamiliar with them.

5. Photographs and Memories

Adding a few photos — perhaps from different stages of your loved one’s life — can make the Order of Service even more personal. Some families also include a short biography, timeline, or “life story” section.

6. Thank You and Acknowledgements

A short message from the family is often included near the end. This can thank those who have attended, sent flowers, or offered support. You might also wish to mention any preferred charities for donations in memory of your loved one.

7. Back Cover

The back page can be a place for:

• A favourite quote, prayer, or blessing

• Details of the wake or gathering after the service

• Contact details for donations or correspondence

Personal Touches That Make a Difference

Every Order of Service should reflect the individuality of the person being honoured. Whether that means including song lyrics from their favourite artist, a poem written by a family member, or even a touch of humour, the team at Archway Funeral Service can help you design something unique and heartfelt.

📍 Archway Funeral Service – Serving families across Derbyshire

If you are looking to arrange a Derbyshire funeral in Ripley, Heanor, Belper, Crich or the surrounding areas of Derbyshire, please do not hesitate to contact Archway Funeral Service.

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Last month a judge in Indiana removed the obligation of taking care of a non-profit cemetery away from the cemetery corporation and placed it in the hands of the government. . . in this case Center Township.  In his decision, Judge Nathan Meeks commented that the Marion Cemetery Corporation efforts to maintain the cemetery were like a “few brave souls bailing water from the Titanic“.

Judge Meeks ruled that the cemetery, which has been the center of complaints and neglect for some time, should be placed in the hands of township trustee Deborah Cain, allowing her to take over care and maintenance of the cemetery.  The ruling, issued July 17, grants the township trustee full control over the cemetery’s financial matters, operations, grounds maintenance and repairs effective immediately.

The cemetery, Estates of Serenity located in Marion, Indiana, dates back to the 1800’s and has over 70,000 completed burials on over 100 acres of land.

As to how the cemetery got in the condition of disrepair the current President of the non-profit which owns the cemetery made these comments, “There’s so many cremations now, they’re just dropping the bodies off and not even doing viewings.   “Then they pick them up, take them home on the shelf or in a closet. So I’ve lost $120,000 in maintenance revenue from that.”

Prior to the pandemic the cemetery completed 150 burials per year and in 2024 that number had dropped to 54.

Not without a cost —  Township Trustee Deborah Cain also announced that she has recieved committments of $300,000 each from the city and county councils to fix up the cemetery.

Related Information — You can read an article and/or view a video news report on this action here.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take —  I think that there is more to this story than reported here.  It’s appears from reading the article that the non-profit that owns the cemetery and its President, Brian Jeffrey, have some type of arrangement with the Marion Cemetery Corporation that brings some type of benefit to Mr. Jeffrey.

The article points out that in February 2025 the Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board found Jeffrey had failed to:

• Regularly mow large section of the grounds
• Trim around monuments
• Remove dead or dying trees
• Repair and reset monuments

The article also says that Jeffrey has filed a notice of appeal on Judge Meeks’recent decision.

My main point in bringing this article forward is regardless of why the cemetery is in disrepair, I understand why those with loved ones interred in the cemetery or those with ownership of lots for future interments are interested in repairing the cemetery.  However, I also wonder how thrilled that city and county residents are with $600,000 of their tax dollars going to keep up and restore a non-profit entity?

And, if the revenue from interments is insufficient to keep the cemetery financially solvent, how much more money will have to be spent by the taxpayers to subsidize the operation in the future?

As cremations and other disposition options continue to grow and as Americans use cemeteries less often in the future how many of these situations — where cemeteries cannot pay for their upkeep — will we discover?  And, what will be the remedy for solving what might be a large problem for non-profit cemeteries?

More news from the world of Death Care:

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These Deathcare-Themed Cocktails Actually Could Put Way More “Fun” Into Funerals

It’s Halloween. You’re still recovering from your “work trip” to New Orleans. Or maybe you have a super cool speakeasy tucked away in your funeral home. These are all perfect excuses to craft and enjoy these deathcare-themed cocktails! 

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Sour apple pucker
• 1/2 oz Blue Curacao
• 1/2 oz Rum
• 5 oz Pineapple juice
• 1 splash Sprite

Instructions: Fill the glasses full of ice. Set the glasses to the side. In a cocktail shaker add your liquors and pineapple juice. Pour your mix into your glass. Top off with Sprite.

Death in the Afternoon (from MK Library)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Absinthe 
• 4 1/2 oz Champagne or dry sparkling wine

Instructions: Pour absinthe into a coupe glass. Top with champagne.

Bloody Morguerita (from Six Storeys)

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila
• 1 oz Triple Sec
• 1 oz fresh Lime Juice
• 2 oz Cranberry Juice
• 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
• Red Food Coloring optional for extra “bloody” effect
• Ice
• Lime Wheel or Wedge for garnish
• Coarse Salt or Sugar for rimming

Instructions: Start by running a lime wedge around the rim of your margarita glass. Then dip the rim into a plate of coarse salt or sugar – your choice! In a cocktail shaker, combine the Tequila, Triple Sec, fresh Lime Juice, Cranberry Juice, and Simple Syrup. Add a few drops of red food coloring if you want a darker, more vivid red. Fill the shaker with ice, and shake vigorously for about 15-20 seconds. Strain the mixture into your prepared, ice-filled margarita glass. Add a lime wheel or wedge on the rim.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz dark rum
• 1 – 1/2 oz Blackberry Liqueur
• 2 oz pomegranate juice
• Few dashes Angostura bitters
• Soda water
• Blackberries, to serve

Instructions: In an ice filled cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients besides soda water. Shake vigorously to combine. In an ice filled rocks glass, pour cocktail carefully. Top off with soda water. Add skewered blackberries for garnish. 

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce Black vodka (1 cup black rice and 1 bottle marshmallow vodka)
• Red decorating sugar
• Ice cubes
• 1 ounce black vodka1 ounce coffee liqueur, like Sabroso Licor de Café
• 1/4 teaspoon Frangelico liqueur

Instructions for black vodka: Place one cup of black rice in a clean quart-sized Ball jar. Fill the rest of the Ball jar with marshmallow vodka. Store for 24 hours in a cool, shady area. Shake occasionally. Drain contents of the Ball jar over a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher or large quart measuring cup with a pouring spout. Toss the rice. Wash out the Ball jar and pour black vodka back into the jar. Label the jar. Cap with a pouring spout.

Instructions for cocktail: Place red decorating sugar in a small dish. Turn the glass upside down and dip it into a small bowl of water. Dip the rim of the glass into the sugar. Carefully place ice cubes into the glass. In a small measuring cup with a spout, mix the vodka, coffee liqueur, and Frangelico together. Pour over ice and serve.

The business news last week was centered on the Producer’s Price Index (PPI) rising 0.6% in the month February, which equates to an annual 7.2% inflationary rate.  That reading, after being lower and even negative for a couple of months prior,  has caused many pundits to opine that getting rid of inflation in America may be a “stickier problem than once thought”.

Here’s a definition of the PPI and why it may have an effect on the products that funeral homes sell:

“(The PPI) is a collection of indexes economists use to measure the average change over time in domestic producers’ prices for their products or services. This information provides a picture of the marketplace from the perspective of sellers.

So, from my point of view, it indicates what the cost of producing goods will be from the suppliers who sell to funeral homes. . . such as casket companies, vault companies, urn companies, paper goods companies, chemical companies, and so on.  Again, from my point of view, the reason it is so important to funeral homes is that it indicates, with all other things being equal, that in time your costs for those wholesale products will be going up and unless you can mark the retail price of those products up to at least match the increase in the wholesale price rise, you risk going backwards on profitability.

And, in a world where the consumer is very conscious of “costs” for what they are purchasing, that increased mark-up gets harder and harder to accomplish.  Combine that with the Death Care consumer’s thought process of potentially reaching a limit on what they will pay for an earth burial service and you can see the consumer having a greater propensity to choose a lower cash-margin alternative such as cremation with services or Direct Cremation as a result of these price increases.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’ve been involved in many businesses in my day, including owning and operating a funeral home for about 35 years.  In all of those businesses when you see input prices, such as products and labor, rising it makes for difficult decisions on how to move forward with your pricing.

There are options, especially if you are profitable at the time, to simply stand pat and absorb those costs without raising prices for the sake of retaining clientele. Or, you can raise prices to retain your margins. . .but you do that with the knowledge that the pricing may drive off some customers or,  in funeral service,  change them to a lesser cost and lower margin service.

That is the “between a rock and hard place”, as is the expression that many funeral homes find themselves in.  In today’s environment, holding on to customers and on to margins is especially critical if you are a business that has debt that has been in an adjustable rate loan environment.

Another factor that may weigh in an owner’s mind is “What is the consumer’s position”?  For instance, if they believe that their consumer is in a very good financial position — which many American retired people, who are a funeral home’s base customer have traditionally been in — the ability to raise prices is probably there.

However, the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Survey also came out last week and that shows that consumers are slightly less confident about their situation than they were a month ago.  In contrast to a year ago, however, they are much more confident.

One thing I do know is that funeral director independent owners are very skillful and knowledgeable about their businesses.  They are on Main Street virtually everyday and, because of their interaction with local people, have a great feeling how their communities are doing.  When it comes to these types of decisions on pricing, I’m pretty certain that each funeral home owner has a great instinct on what to do.

I was like that.. . . .I took in all information, input, and data that I could, but then let my instincts take over.  And, I never did anything in a hasty manner. . . always making slow, thoughtful decisions.  That’s the best advice I can give to owner/operators on on these type of “between a rock and hard place” issues

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I’ve talked about the book, Megatrends, by John Naisbitt before.  It was published in 1982 and sold 14 million copies and after reading it about the time it was written, its “Social Forecasting”, and my belief in that concept, played a major role in building my funeral business and other businesses I was involved in.

I became a huge believer in Naisbitt’s trends and bought hook, line, and sinker that I should incorporate them into how I made decisions to move my business forward.  For instance, one of those trends was moving from “Centralized” leadership to “Decentralized” leadership or another was moving from “Hierarchies” (a pyramid structure with few at the top) to “Networking” (every employee gets a say).

Here is a summary of Naisbitt’s “Megatrends” that will move society.  Remember, these were written in 1982.

This might sound strange today, but in 1982  centralizing the leadership and then giving commands to employees was the way business was done. . . .and generally the owners of companies joined the business clubs like Kiwanis and Rotary with the business paying their dues and membership fees and the employees generally were not involved in those business clubs.

Reading Megatrends gave me two initiatives that greatly brought my business positive momentum. . . First of all, I changed from a “Centralized and Hierarchal” system of making arrangements whereby the owner made the arrangements and was on the front line with the families and then ordered employee funeral directors on how to handle the funeral to a “Decentralized and Networking” process whereby all funeral directors made arrangements and dealt with families. . . Each funeral director made their own decisions, without having to ask the owner, on how the funeral service would go.

Secondly, I made available a pool of money for all employees, not just the owner, to join business or social clubs at the company’s expense within the dicatates of Internal Revenue rules.  And, followed up by giving employees time off from the facility to attend the functions that their club(s) was/(were) busy with.

Those decisions sound like a simple smart business modus operandi today, but it was not how things happened in the early 1980’s.  Especially, in small family operated businesses. . . It was generally the owner out front taking credit and the funeral director employees in the back room doing the work.  It’s just the way it was. . . . When I think of that time I cannot help but think of the cartoon classic “The Jetson’s” and the relationship between Mr. Spacely, owner of “Spacely Sprockets” and his employee George Jetson. . . or of the relationship on the 1960’s “sitcom” Bewitched between the boss Mr. Larry Tate and his employee Darin Stevens.

That gets me to another of Naisbitt’s Megatrends that is still taking place today.  He had the incredible insight to realize that our society would move at some point in time to an “Information Society” – after our country had passed through an agriculture society, an industrial society, and a technolgical society.  Here’s what Naisbitt said back in 1982 about “Information”:

“Information is an economic entity because it costs something to
produce, and because someone is willing to pay for it. Value is
whatever people are willing to pay. If an economy built around
information seems less real than one built around steel &
automobiles, it doesn’t matter so long as people are willing to pay
for information.

In the 1930s, society became organized around the automobile.
All that the automobile contributed was transportation. Today’s
society is becoming organized around the computer, which has
an orientation to expand your brain power through growth,
education and learning. The computer age will deal with
conceptual space, connected by electrons as opposed to
physical space connected by the motorcar.”

In my opinion we are continuing to live in that “Information” society today. . . .and relying on it to a greater and greater extend each day.  As we continue to move forward consumers are showing a greater reliance each day on “Information” when they make their consumer purchases.

For instance, my wife and I spend three months each winter in South Florida.  We still don’t know the area that well, but when we want to do something like go to a movie theatre, we get all the “information” that we can get through “conceptual space” on our computer or mobile phone without moving through “physical” space.  Here’s what we do:

1. Look on a map to see where theatres are located in relation to where we are at.
2. Once we locate theatres we look to see what movies are playing there.
3. Once we find the movie that we like, we look for specific times that fit our schedule.
4. Once we are satisfied, we look for seats, pricing, and then purchase our ticket.

Now, we are ready to go.  However, think if the movie theatre you owned didn’t have a website or did not put the movies and times that they were offered on that website your theatre, regardless how wonderful it is, would not be chosen.  I can guarantee you that we would have skipped right over your theatre because we are no longer comfortable or see value in going through the efforts to call or drive by your theatre when we can make other choices from the comfort of our home chair.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

It’s my opinion that that is exactly what is happening and will continue to happen at a higher occurence rate to death care providers that do not offer enough “information” on their website. . . and that includes pricing.  While I don’t agree that the federal government should mandate website pricing as a consumer protection, I do believe it is in a funeral home’s best interest to put pricing on their website on a voluntary basis.

I’ve gotten stronger with my belief on this subject and every time I write something like this I will get a couple of emails from funeral directors who tell me they like having potential clients call them so they can explain what they do, how it benefits the client family, and how they charge for it.  They tell me that “many times the consumer will tell me that even though those prices are a little higher than what I saw online, I like the personal touch and will be coming to your funeral home because of that.”

I don’t doubt that that happens because it happened at my funeral home exactly the same way. . . . What I’m concerned about today as we get more and more into the “Information” society is that for every call you get like that, you probably have a dozen potential clients who, like me with my movie example, have passed you by because they did not see the “information” that they wanted on your website and were not willing to call or drive over because it was so simple to find their answers on competitor’s websites.

Here’s an article from Forbes that I found while doing this article entitled, “What John Naisbitt taught me about the Future“.  I found it interesting and also found this Naisbitt quote in it which I think explains why you should look at consumer trends, like online pricing, for your funeral home business modus operandi:

“Trends, like horses, are easier to ride in the direction they are going.”

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”