Is a Funeral Ceremony for Suicide Necessary? A Korean Presbyterian Perspective Hwarang Moon Hwarang Moon is a professor of worship at Korea Theological Seminary. He holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and a ThM in Worship from Calvin Theological Seminary. He has published several articles in Doxology, Christian Education Journal, and Worship. Suicide is a social issue of growing concern in South Korea. The country’s suicide rate is ranked number one among OECD countries, and may climb up to three times the suicide rate in the United States. Suicide is the leading cause of death among individuals in their teens, 20’s, and 30’s; and the second-most cause of death among Koreans in their 40’s and 50’s. In 2018, 13,670 people died by suicide in Korea, meaning the daily average suicide rate was 37.5 people.1 In this current social atmosphere, the suicide rate among Christians has increased as well. Sometimes, people hear news of a suicide of a church elder or pastor. When this type of event occurs, pastors and congregations are perplexed because they do not know how to respond. There is added stress if the church family has theological questions concerning the salvation of one who dies by suicide. How can the church respond with compassion when one of the congregants of the church commits suicide? The cases below review a variety of circumstances pastors encounter that are not uncommon occurrences in the Korean Presbyterian Church. Case 1 A certain church elder who had served the church faithfully died abruptly and unexpectedly. The cause of death was suicide. Because of the church’s view on suicide, the senior pastor determined that a funeral within the church would not be fitting. So, he did not allow a church funeral, and the family members felt sadness and anger. Case 2 A long serving deacon died suddenly. The deacon had been suffering with severe depression and the cause of death was determined to be suicide. A senior pastor
Proceedings of the North American Academy of Liturgy 2020
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