Burials

• At the Parish Service Office, arrangements are made for the time and place of the funeral service, as well as for the pastor and church musician (cantor) who will officiate. Their participation in the memorial reception can also be discussed.
• The burial plot and method of burial are determined at the Parish Service Office. If a new burial plot is needed, or if necessary, a separate appointment can be made with the Cemetery Office to view the burial site.
• The use of a coffin pall (arkkualba) can also be arranged at the Parish Service Office.
• Practical arrangements for the burial are agreed upon.
• A venue for the memorial reception can be reserved if the event is to be held on parish premises. No separate fee is charged for the use of the church or chapel for the funeral of a member of the Parish of Seinäjoki. Catering arrangements must be confirmed no later than 10 days before the memorial reception. Parish members are not charged a rental fee for parish facilities. Catering costs will be invoiced according to the selected menu.

The priest who will conduct the funeral service will contact the family. During the meeting, you will discuss the life of the deceased and agree on the details of the funeral, such as hymns and other elements of the service.

If you wish to discuss the details of the funeral service or the memorial gathering with the cantor (church musician), you are welcome to contact them directly. Any special music requests should also be discussed with the cantor.

Family members may carry the coffin into the church themselves or arrange this through the funeral home. At Törnävä Funeral Chapel, the coffin is always placed in the chapel before the funeral service begins. The coffin is brought into the church either before the service starts or at the beginning of the service while the bells are ringing. The verger or funeral coordinator will provide guidance for carrying the coffin. Six people are needed to serve as pallbearers.

• Funeral music
• Hymn. If floral tributes are presented at the beginning of the service, they are placed after this hymn.
• Psalm and prayer
• Scripture reading, address, and creed
• Words of committal
• Prayer
• Hymn
• Presentation of floral tributes, if they were not presented at the beginning of the service
• Hymn
• Funeral music

Floral tributes may also be presented at the graveside. For hygiene reasons, it is not recommended to bring flowers from the funeral service to the memorial gathering.

The order of the funeral service can be found in the appendix section of the hymnal under Burial Service.

The coffin is carried out of the church or chapel while funeral music is played. Outside the church or chapel, the coffin is placed on the funeral carriage. In Peräseinäjoki, the coffin is transferred to the funeral director’s vehicle.

The funeral coordinator or sexton, together with the pastor, leads the procession to the graveside. The funeral coordinator or sexton gives guidance on lowering the coffin into the grave. After the coffin has been lowered, the grave is covered with a protective cover, on top of which the flowers are placed. If memorial tributes have already been expressed in the church, several floral arrangements may be laid at the grave at the same time. The graveside service concludes with a hymn.

If the burial takes place on a Friday afternoon or on a Saturday, parish staff will fill in the grave on the next working day. For fire safety reasons, candles must not be lit among the flowers on top of the grave’s floral frame. 

As agreed, the coffin is either carried to the funeral home’s vehicle or remains in the church or chapel after the funeral service. If the coffin remains in the church or chapel, the family should arrange its transfer with the funeral home. At Törnävä Funeral Chapel, the coffin always remains in the chapel, and parish staff will take care of its transfer.

After the funeral service, the family takes the floral tributes to the grave or to the memorial monument in the urn garden or memorial garden. If the burial plot is located outside the urn garden, a temporary marker will be in place at the gravesite.

When reserving an urn burial place, the date for the release of the urn is agreed upon at the parish service office. This usually takes place during the week following the funeral service. If requested, a parish employee can accompany the family to the funeral chapel for the handover of the urn. The family then places the urn in the grave.

Burials in the urn garden are carried out by parish staff. When burial takes place in the urn garden, an urn provided by the parish may be used. It is also possible to scatter ashes in the Törnävä urn garden.

The family arranges the memorial reception at a venue of their choice. By prior agreement, the pastor and church musician (cantor) may also attend the reception. The gathering usually includes hymns and a short address by the pastor. Family members and friends may share memories of the deceased. The programme may also include music, and memorial cards and messages of condolence can be read aloud.

The pastor and cantor can assist in planning the programme. The memorial reception usually begins with refreshments.

A deceased member of the parish and their family may, with the family’s permission, be remembered in the prayers of intercession during the Mass or worship service on the Sunday following the funeral service. The thanksgiving for the deceased may also be arranged for another Sunday by agreement. With the family’s permission, the name of the deceased will be published in the family announcements section of local newspapers.

On All Saints’ Day, a memorial service is held to remember those who have passed away since the previous All Saints’ Day. With the family’s permission, the names of parish members buried in the local cemetery are read aloud in church, and memorial candles are lit in their memory.

The costs charged by the parish for a coffin burial include grave excavation, covering and restoration of the grave, the removal and reinstallation of the headstone in connection with the burial, and the burial plot fee, unless a family grave already exists.

The costs of cremation burial vary depending on whether the urn is interred in an urn garden, an urn burial plot, or a family grave. In addition, a cremation fee is charged.

If the deceased was entitled to a veteran’s front-line service insignia, the burial plot, grave excavation, covering and restoration of the grave, and cremation are provided free of charge.

For more detailed information about costs, please contact the Cemetery and Parks Services Secretary at +358 6 418 4227 or the Parks Manager at +358 6 418 4267.

Under the Finnish Code of Inheritance, reasonable funeral expenses are considered estate administration debts (Code of Inheritance, Chapter 18, Section 5). The parish funeral invoice is unequivocally regarded as part of the funeral expenses and is therefore an estate administration debt. By law, estate administration debts must be paid from the assets of the estate before any other debts, as they fall due. Only after these expenses have been paid may the deceased’s other debts be settled from the estate’s assets (Code of Inheritance, Chapter 21, Section 1).

This means that the parish funeral invoice takes priority over the deceased’s other debts in the order of payment. The fact that an estate is insolvent does not remove the obligation to pay the parish funeral invoice. If there are insufficient assets in the estate, the deceased’s other debts must be left unpaid before estate administration debts.

According to the Code of Inheritance, the beneficiaries of an estate are personally liable for any debt they incur on behalf of the estate (Code of Inheritance, Chapter 21, Section 4), regardless of the actual financial position of the estate. A parish funeral invoice is considered a debt incurred by a beneficiary on behalf of the estate.

A deaconal worker or pastor can be invited to make a home visit. The parish regularly organizes bereavement support groups for those who have lost a loved one. Information about these groups is published in newspaper announcements and on the parish website.

1. Cemetery and Parks Office: +358 6 418 4267
2. Duty Sexton: +358 6 418 4260
3. Crematorium: To arrange the collection of urns being transferred to other parishes, please call +358 44 760 0762.