What is the Missouri Synods position on cremation?
A. The LCMS has no official position on cremation. Cremation is increasing in favor, in part because of space limitations in some cemeteries and because of health considerations. The primary reason for the increase in cremations is economic, however, since it avoids such costs as the purchase of coffins and cemetery plots and substantially lowers the expense of a funeral. In their textbook Pastoral Theology (used at our Synod’s seminaries), LCMS Pastors Norbert H. Mueller and George Kraus offer this perspective: “Not too long ago, the church viewed cremation negatively. Because the general public associated the practice with heathen religions and/or an attempt to disprove the possibility of the resurrection, Christians were reluctant to consider it. In itself, the practice has no theological significance and may be used in good conscience. Synods Lutheran Service Book Agenda, approved by the LCMS in convention, includes an instruction (rubric) for the committal of a persons ashes, enco
