• People are becoming increasingly aware that internal organs donated from a person who has recently died can sustain the precious gift of life in others.
• Judeo-Christian tradition affirms that God chose to breathe the gift of life into human flesh. The bodily incarnation of God in the person of Jesus is the ultimate witness to God’s love for humankind.
• The decision to donate organs is personal, yet can be informed by faith. There is no church law or theological reason preventing Lutheran Christians from choosing to be organ donors.
• Lutheran theology and confessions affirm the resurrection of the body. God’s promise to resurrect the dead is not compromised by organ donation. Almighty God, who created our bodies, has the capacity to resurrect them with or without the presence of specific organs.

• For a number of reasons, cremation (burning the body and reducing it to ashes) is becoming more prevalent. Lutheran theology and tradition do not favor any particular form of burial. God’s ability to give resurrected bodies to those who bear the name of Christ cannot be stymied by any human action, including organ donation or cremation.
• Bodies may be buried in the traditional manner or cremated, according to the preferences of the deceased and the deceased’s family. The concern of the church is that after death, baptized Christians be commended to God in hope of the resurrection.
• Cremated remains, often called "cremains" or ashes, should be accorded the same dignity given to a body. When cremated remains instead of the body are present for the rite of Burial of the Dead, they should be treated in the same manner as a body.
• Cremated remains are usually placed in an urn made of metal or pottery or another small receptacle. Just as a white pall is placed over a coffin as a baptismal symbol in the hope of the resurrection, a smaller white pall can be made to cover the urn or receptacle. As would a coffin, the urn may be carried in procession. It may be placed on a small stand and surrounded by flowers and the paschal candle, as would a body.
• In the absence of the body, some families choose to provide a photograph of the deceased that may be placed beside the urn during the burial rite. This may provide comfort for those who may want some symbol of presence in addition to the cremation urn.
• At times, cremated remains are buried in a cemetery or in the ground, in the same manner as a body. In other instances families may request that the cremated ashes be scattered over a field or water or housed in a columbarium, a small niche in the wall of the church or churchyard dedicated for this purpose.
• All matters surrounding burial are sensitive and require pastoral guidance, care and wisdom. The important constant in the presence of diverse and shifting societal burial practices is that proper dignity be accorded to all the baptized who have died, regardless of the manner of burial.

Resources

• Stauffer, S. Anita. Altar Guild and Sacristy Handbook. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2000. ISBN: 0806638966.