Not knowing the shape is the normal state.
Almost nobody who needs an order of service has written one before, and almost everybody who has done it before did it once, years apart, and does not remember the shape either. The knowledge of what goes where is the actual product here — not the writing.
A blank chat box assumes you already know what you are asking for.
Ask a general-purpose writing tool for "an order of service" and it will hand you something — but it has no way of knowing whether your service is religious or civil, whether a reading has been chosen, who is speaking, or whether there is a wake to mention. You end up doing the hard part yourself: knowing the shape a service actually follows, in what order, with what it is normal to say at each point. That is exactly the part a grieving, exhausted, first-time family does not have.
So this asks the shape out of you gently instead, one plain question at a time, and it treats "not chosen yet" as a complete, valid answer wherever that is genuinely true — because at the point most families are filling this in, several things genuinely have not been decided yet, and being pressed for an answer that does not exist yet is its own small cruelty.
What comes back is not a guess at what a service contains. It is the actual running order — entrance, welcome, readings, eulogy, reflection, committal, afterwards — built from exactly what you told it, with the words for each part rather than a label saying "insert wording here."
What it does with your answers.
Seven questions go in: their name and dates, the type of service, music, who is taking part, any reading already chosen, a wake, and donations. A complete printable running order comes back — the cover line, every section with its own wording, and a short list of what to confirm before it goes to the printer.
Reading: not chosen yet — he loved the sea and spent every summer sailing. Participants: reading by his granddaughter Sophie; bearers not yet confirmed.
Reading — Read by his granddaughter, Sophie. Suggested readings for someone who loved the sea: "Sea Fever" by John Masefield; "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson; "The Voyage", commonly read at humanist services. The family may prefer to choose and source the full text of whichever fits best.
Bearers — [ADD FACT: names, once confirmed].
Notice it did not invent a poem, and it did not print a full copyrighted text as though it were free to reproduce — it named three real, established readings that fit what was actually loved, so the family can find and choose one themselves. It also did not invent bearers to fill the gap; where the answer said "not yet confirmed", the running order marks it rather than guessing names. That is a recommendation, never an invention, and the distinction matters at a funeral more than almost anywhere else.
How it works.
- You answer seven questions. Several genuinely accept "not chosen yet", "no", or "none" as complete answers — nothing here presses you for a decision you have not made.
- Top up once, then spend pence from your balance. This job is about 30p — never more than 40p and spends only what it actually used, so the rest stays in your balance for another job — the eulogy this often sits beside, for one.
- You get a complete printable running order. A cover line, every section's wording in order, and a short check list — confirm the spelling of every name, confirm the timing, confirm any reading with whoever is reading it.
A job that fails to generate spends nothing at all.
Who this suits.
Worth it if
- You do not know what an order of service normally contains, and nobody has time to explain it to you today.
- Several things — music, a reading, a wake — genuinely are not decided yet, and you want to move forward anyway.
- The service is civil, humanist, or does not fit neatly into "religious" or "secular", and you do not want wording that assumes the wrong one.
- Several people are reading or speaking and you need it written down clearly who does what, in order.
Not worth it if
- Your funeral director or celebrant is already producing the order of service as part of their own service — check first, many do.
- You want the full text of a specific, chosen reading reproduced verbatim — it names and recommends real readings but does not republish copyrighted text in full.
- You want it to make a decision about the type of service or the committal wording on your behalf. It writes to what you tell it, not around it.
What people ask, usually with a lot still undecided.
What actually goes in an order of service? I have never done this before.
That not-knowing is the whole reason this exists. A typical service runs: entrance, welcome, one or two readings, the eulogy, a reflection while music plays, the committal, then practical details about a wake or donations afterwards. You do not need to know that shape in advance — the seven questions build it for you in the right order.
We have not picked a reading. Is that a problem?
No — say what they loved and it recommends three well-known, genuinely established readings that suit, by name and why, so you or whoever is reading can find the full text and choose. It never invents a poem or reproduces a full copyrighted text as its own.
The service is humanist, not religious. Will it get that wrong?
It uses exactly the service type you name, and only that. Committal wording is written to match — secular for a civil or humanist service, the appropriate register for a religious one, and both clearly labelled if you say the service is genuinely in between.
Multiple people are reading and speaking. Will it get the names and roles right?
Only from what you give it. Every reader, speaker and bearer in the running order comes from your own answer to who is taking part, doing exactly the role you assigned — it will not invent a second reader or guess at a role nobody was given.
Can I use this if I am the celebrant, not family?
Yes — it works the same way whoever is filling it in, and a celebrant familiar with the shape of a service may move through the seven questions faster than family would. What it produces is a printable draft either way, not a substitute for your own professional judgement on the day.
Is this a substitute for talking to the funeral director or celebrant?
No — it produces a draft to work from, not a final document. Whoever is leading the service should always see it before it is printed, in case something about the service's own local convention needs to change.
Ready to put it in order?
You do not need to have every decision made. Answer what you know, and leave the rest as "not chosen yet" — the draft still comes back complete.
Top up once. No subscription. About 30p — never more than 40p.