John Wesley had a portable pulpit. The immediate need was practical: he was short, and his pulpit elevated him so that he could be seen and heard. Perhaps more importantly, the portable pulpit turned ...

Each time I do a funeral, I make some simple concessions before arriving at the church. The sermon will be 20 minutes or less. Religious ser­vices, in general, meet with resistance. Nobody wants them ...

I have often said that I would rather officiate one thousand funerals than officiate one wedding. It’s not that I hate weddings, it’s just that I prefer to officiate funerals, especially if they are ...

Recorded organ music wafts through the funeral chapel as mourners - a man, woman, young child and infant cradled in its mother's arms - navigate their way past rows of steel-legged, ...

I thought I’d found my groove for funerals. I used to feel calm as they approached. I used to feel competent, I felt I knew exactly what to do. That is, until the pandemic hit. My first funeral after ...