2. SEUNG HWA CEREMONY
Location. A Seung Hwa may be held at a church center; regional or national headquarters, depending on the realm of the ascending individual's life mission or work; someone's home; or a funeral home. We recommend that you visit the place chosen for the Seung Hwa as much in advance of the ceremony as possible. Find out what support services are available from the mortuary or church: sound system, lighting, easels, parking. Someone should be assigned as greeter to welcome the guests as they enter the building, guide them to sign the registration book, leave a donation, and give them a program. An usher should be assigned to escort them to their seat. Family and relatives should be in the front row.

Ceremony time. The time of the ceremony is arranged to accommodate the schedules of the immediate family, the funeral home, and the cemetery.

Dress code. For members of the immediate family and those who have an official role (officiator, pallbearers, picture carrier). Women should wear white or light-colored clothes and red flower corsages. Men should wear dark blue suits with a white shirt and white tie and boutonnieres of white flowers. Pallbearers wear white gloves while carrying the coffin.

Preparation for the ceremony.

  • Holy Salt the room where the Seung Hwa ceremony takes place prior to the casket being moved into it. (If the Ghi Hwan was in the same room, you do not have to Holy Salt again.)
  • Set up the altar (as described above). Make sure the room is well lit.
  • Flower arrangements are placed around the casket and altar.
  • For those who have an official role and for the immediate family: white boutonnieres for men, red corsages for women.
  • Single flowers for the flower offering during the Seung Hwa. (The same single flowers may be used for the flower offering at the Won Jeon.)

Banner. The banner or sign displayed at the front of the room should say something like: "Seung Hwa Ceremony of [name of person] [date]." See page 208, diagram 23.2, in The Tradition book. The advantages of using a banner are that it is easy to fold and store as a keepsake. The disadvantage is that it can be hard to hang at the Seung Hwa site. It is important to visit the site ahead of time to see how the banner could be hung and then to bring the right materials to do so on the day of the ceremony. The advantage of using a sign is that it is often cheaper and doesn't have to be hung, but you will need an easel or other kind of support to display it. When you visit the Seung Hwa site, think of where you want to display the sign (behind the coffin or next to it) and obtain the appropriate size and type of easel. The disadvantage of a sign is it is often fragile and bulky and therefore hard to store. Some copy centers can make a sign on large, good-quality paper that can then be mounted on a stiff background such as foam board. Then, depending on how the sign was mounted, it could be removed, rolled, and easily stored.


- Unification Church flag or Family Federation flag is placed across the casket.

  • Guest book. This can be the same guest book as used for the Gwi Hwan ceremony. It is kept as a remembrance by the member's family.
  • Bowl of Holy Salt at entrance.
  • Programs: The program usually lists the order of service and those participating and may include copies of the songs as an insert. A biography of the individual is often read during the ceremony and a copy could also be included as an insert, if desired.
  • You can arrange for someone to play music for the hymns and for someone to do a musical offering.
  • Podium. The funeral home will have a podium available for the officiator to use.
  • The Seung Hwa ceremony and the Won Jeon ceremony may be videotaped, and the tape given to the immediate family. If no videotaping is done, then a photographer should be arranged. In addition to serving as family mementos, photos of the ceremony might be desired for publication. The individuals operating the cameras should be sensitive to the situation.
  • No picture of True Parents or True Family should be used in any part of the ceremony.

Service leader (officiator). One elder Blessed member should be selected by the family to lead the service. It is not appropriate for the spouse to do so.

Songs. The ceremony should begin with songs. These can be Holy Songs, such as "The Lord Into His Garden Comes," or other songs loved by the ascending individual. Before the ceremony begins, someone can play music softly in the background.

Prayer, biography, and testimony. The officiator should then offer a representative prayer and introduce someone to read a short biography of the ascending member (optional) and those individuals to giving testimonies of the member's life.

Sermon. The ascending individual's church leader (according to his or her realm of mission) is introduced by the officiator and delivers a sermon. Of course if it is the family's wish, someone other than a church leader can give the address.

Flower offering. Either one by one or in small groups (depending on the number of people involved), those attending the Seung Hwa should:

  • Express a gesture of respect or obeisance, such as to face the altar and offer one full (or half) bow in front of altar and casket.
  • Place a flower on the closed casket
  • Offer another full or half bow and return to their seat.

If there are too many people, representatives may be chosen. These representatives should be announced by the officiator, making sure to have them come forward in a manner consistent with heavenly hierarchy. This is the general order:

  • True Family
  • center leader
  • elder Blessed couples (in order of Blessing group)
  • other friends and members
  • members of the immediate family (they are last as they are also receiving the offerings of the others)

A closing hymn or musical offering usually follows the flower offering.

Benediction. A closing prayer is offered to end the Seung Hwa.

Announce procession guidelines. The officiator or a mortuary representative should explain the mortuary's guidelines for the procession. Usually this entails the drivers turning on car headlights, and sometimes flashers as well, and following the hearse without breaking the procession (proceeding through intersections and stoplights without stopping).

Items to bring from Seung Hwa ceremony to burial site:

  • Individual's picture
  • Easel or stand to hold picture
  • Flowers:

    · The mortuary usually arranges for the flowers to be transported in the hearse with the casket. If a large number are expected, a flower car may need to be arranged for as part of the funeral expenses, or you can arrange for a friend with a van to help transport the flowers.
    · The individual flowers offered at the end of the ceremony should be brought to the Won Jeon site for the offerings there.

  • Candles [TRADITION BOOK DOESN'T MENTION CANDLES AT WON JEON]
  • Incense and incense receptacle [INCENSE OPTIONAL IN TRADITION BOOK]
  • Matches or lighter
  • Holy Salt

[ Top | Introduction | Organ Donations | The Meaning of Seung Hwa | Three Phases | Preparation of the body and casket | 1. Ghi Hwan Ceremony | 2. Seung Hwa Ceremony | 3. Won Jeon Ceremony | After the Seung Hwa Ceremony | Support Committee | Casket | Pre-Planning | Checklist ]

Website: http://www.nationalwonjeon.com/