Perfect Stranger's Guide to Funerals and Grieving Practices

Based on the How to Be a Perfect Stranger:
A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies.

The handbook for how to respond in an appropriate way when someone dies—no matter what their faith or denomination.

Few of us are ever prepared for the loss of a relative, friend or colleague. This stressful situation can be made worse if we are unfamiliar with the practices and rituals of the deceased person’s religious tradition.

This complete guide provides all the answers you need to express your condolences and show your respect in the appropriate way regardless of the religious tradition involved, addressing many common concerns, including:

Will there be a ceremony—what will it be like, and how long will it last? What should I wear? What should I avoid doing, wearing, saying? Are flowers appropriate? What is the appropriate behavior if viewing the body?

These are just a few of the basic, very practical questions answered in this unique etiquette guide covering all the major (and many minor) denominations and religions found in North America—from Hindu to Presbyterian, from Mennonite to Sikh—helping you to do the right thing in a difficult situation.

Covers all the major (and many minor) denominations and religions found in North America:

African American Methodist Churches
Assemblies of God
Baha’i
Baptist
Buddhist
Christian and Missionary Alliance
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Congregation
Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist)
Church of the Brethren
Church of the Nazarene
Churches of Christ
Episcopalian and Anglican
Evangelical Free Church
Greek Orthodox
Hindu
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
International Pentecostal Holiness Church
Islam
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jewish
Lutheran
Mennonite/Amish
Methodist
Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Native American/First Nations
Orthodox Churches
Pentecostal Church of God
Presbyterian
Quaker (Religious Society of Friends)
Reformed Church in America/Canada
Roman Catholic
Seventh-day Adventist
Sikh
Unitarian Universalist
United Church of Canada
United Church of Christ
Wesleyan