Damn good question. People you know don’t die every day, so many of us are not regular attendees of funeral and memorial services. Some people choose to be cremated, some burial, but aside from that what about the sending off? Military funerals are a grand affair with dress uniforms and often gun salutes, state funerals are a national occasion, Christian funerals recognise the beginning and end of the cycle of life, and Scientologists have their own service. I just went to one, so I can tell you a bit about it.
The subject of Scientology teaches that you are a spiritual being, not just flesh and bones, and the entire philosophy revolves around the idea that you are a spirit, you are basically good, and you can be helped to improve your own abilities as a being. It is believed that beings go on living after death of the body, and the Scientology funeral service reflects this. The body as a vehicle for the spirit is regarded as a symbol of what that being has accomplished throughout his or her lifetime, but it is not the person themselves.
Therefore the service conveys that concept and serves to wish the deceased well in their new life. It is led by a Scientology Minister and often includes speeches from friends and family members that allow those in attendance to appreciate what the person had accomplished in their life, and to celebrate that. A passage from the works of L. Ron Hubbard is read at a Scientology funeral service, which includes these words:
Our loss is gain
In wisdom and in skill
To future dates and other smiles
And so we send into the
Chain of all enduring time
Our heritage
Our hope
Our friend.
Goodbye, [name].
Your people thank you for having lived.
Earth is better for your having lived.
Men, women and children are alive today
Because you lived.
We thank you for coming to us.
We do not contest your right to go away.
Your debts are paid.
This chapter of thy life is shut.
Go now, dear [name] and live once more
In happier time and place.
The service I attended was for someone very well-known in the Scientology community and hence included speeches from colleagues, friends and family, and was attended by several hundred, some of whom were not Scientologists. I enjoyed the way it brought people together to laugh and enjoy the good times that were had, so we could all look forward into the future and not sit and ponder over the person’s death, or worry about the family feeling the effects. I got to talk to some people I don’t ordinarily see, and there was a strong sense of community which I believe is what the person wanted.
For more information about the ceremonies of the Church of Scientology, I suggest you take a look at this section on Scientology Church Ceremonies, which is taken from the book, Scientology: Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion.