Funerals

IN THIS ARTICLE:

  1. Setting Sacrament/Funeral Defaults
  2. Entering Funeral Records

Setting Sacrament/Funeral Defaults

In the Church Maintenance page, users can see the defaults set for the Sacrament/Funeral Location and Sacrament/Funeral Book Location fields.

Sacrament/Funeral Defaults Set by the Diocese

Diocese Administrator users can set the Sacrament/Funeral Defaults for all church databases within their diocese using these instructions. If the diocese sets the Sacrament/Funeral Defaults for all church databases...

  • The defaults set for the Sacrament/Funeral Location and the Sacrament/Funeral Book Location will be visible in each church database's Administrative > Church Maintenance page.
  • While the information is visible to church-level users in their Church Maintenance pages, it is grayed out and not able to be edited by church-level users.
  • When church-level users add a sacrament or add a funeral to a member record, the Sacrament/Funeral Location default set in Diocese Maintenance will lead the corresponding information to auto-populate in the sacrament's Location field in the sacrament record and the funeral's Location of Funeral field in the funeral record.
  • Likewise, the Sacrament/Funeral Book Location default set in Diocese Maintenance will lead the corresponding information to auto-populate in the book information's Location field in the sacrament and funeral records.
  • While church-level users cannot edit the Diocese Administrator-selected defaults, they can edit the information within the sacrament's Location field, the funeral's Location of Funeral field, and the book information Location fields.
Defaults set in Diocese Maintenance as seen by a church-level user in Administrative > Church Maintenance

Sacrament/Funeral Defaults Set by the Church

If the diocese does not set the Sacrament/Funeral Defaults, Church Administrators are able to set the Sacrament/Funeral Location and the Sacrament/Funeral Book Location fields to one of the four options below. (Note: The default options you select for Sacrament/Funeral Location and the Sacrament/Funeral Book Location do not need to match.)

  • No Default - the corresponding fields in the sacrament and funeral records will not auto-populate with any information.
  • Church ID - the corresponding fields in the sacrament and funeral records will auto-populate with the church database's ChMS Church ID, displayed as a three-digit number (i.e. Church ID 33 will display as 033).
  • Church Name - the corresponding fields in the sacrament and funeral records will auto-populate with the information in the database's Church Name field in the Church Maintenance page.
  • Church Name & Church ID - the corresponding fields in the sacrament and funeral records will auto-populate with the information in the database's Church Name and three-digit Church ID. (Note: Formatting will be Church Name - Church ID, e.g. "Church of St. Mary - 033")
Default options in Church Maintenance

Entering Funeral Records

  1. Within the family record, click the Funeral tab.
  2. Click New Funeral.
  3. Fill out the relevant information.

Note: If Sacrament/Funeral Defaults have been set, the Location of Funeral field and the Book's Location field will auto-populate with the appropriate data. Users can edit the data that auto-populates in those fields.

  1. Click Save.

After a funeral has been added, you can edit any of the information related to the entry by clicking Edit. You can delete the entry by selecting the Delete button found on the right.

Please see the screenshot below to learn what fields are available for funeral entries:


Funeral record, highlighting the fields tied to the Sacrament/Funeral Defaults

Note: Deceased Date can be listed within the Funeral and Miscellaneous tabs of the Member record. Please read the following to see how these fields are impacted by one another:

    • If you're first adding a "Deceased Date" within the Miscellaneous tab, this same deceased date will automatically populate when adding a funeral.
      • If instead you're first adding a "Deceased Date" within the Funeral tab, this same deceased date will automatically populate within the Miscellaneous tab.
    • When you enter the Deceased Date in one area (either a funeral entry or the Miscellaneous tab), the Deceased Date you select will update wherever else the deceased date is already listed.
      • For instance, if I list the deceased date in the Miscellaneous tab as 04/01/2023, and then I select the deceased date as 04/03/2023 when adding a funeral, the deceased date in the Miscellaneous tab will update to show 04/03/2023.
      • If instead I add a funeral entry, and then I enter a different deceased date within the Miscellaneous tab, the funeral entry will then automatically update to reflect the deceased date entered in the Miscellaneous tab.

To see this in action, please click HERE to watch a short tutorial.


To generate a report of funeral entries, select Reports > Report Library. You'll then want to scroll to the Members section and open up the "Funerals" report. This report shows funeral information for a specified date range and selected locations. It includes the Member's name as well as all information related to the funeral entry.

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