How to write the acknowledgements for the back page

What the acknowledgements are for

The acknowledgements — sometimes headed 'Words of Thanks' or 'Vote of Thanks' — are the family's way of thanking everyone who carried them through the loss. They are read quietly, often at home after the burial, by people looking for their own name or their church's. Keep the tone grateful and plain. You are not writing a speech; you are closing the programme with warmth. A few honest sentences will do more than a long, formal paragraph, and they are far easier to get right when you are tired.

The three-sentence shape

Most acknowledgements fit comfortably into three short sentences. You do not need more, and a long paragraph is harder to read and easier to get wrong. This shape also keeps you from accidentally leaving someone out, because you thank groups rather than a list of names. Think of it as broad thanks, then the specific places that helped, then a warm line to close. Fill in your own details and read it aloud once before it goes to print.

• Broad thanks: open by thanking everyone who supported the family — the calls, messages, flowers, food, and prayers.
• Specific institutions: name the places that helped — the hospital ward, the church, the employer, the burial society, the undertaker.
• A warm close: end with a blessing, a short line of scripture, or a simple sentence such as 'Your kindness carried us through.'

Four examples to adapt

Read each of these aloud and change the details to fit your family — replace the bracketed words with your own names and places. None of them is 'correct'; they are starting points you can shorten or soften. If you would rather begin from a template, our wording tool has each example ready to adjust on screen. Choose the one closest to your family's voice, whether that is plain, prayerful, or grateful for a long season of care.

• General: 'The family of the late [Name] wishes to thank everyone who stood with us — for every phone call, message, flower, and plate of food. We are grateful to [Church] and to the staff of [Hospital] for their care. Your kindness has carried us, and we will not forget it.'
• Faith: 'The [Surname] family gives thanks to God for the life of [Name], and to all who mourned with us. We thank [Church] and Reverend [Name], the [choir / mothers' union], and every hand that helped. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34:18). May He bless you.'
• After a long illness: 'The family of [Name] thanks the doctors, nurses, and carers of [Ward, Hospital] who cared for [Name] with such patience over these past months. We thank [hospice / home-based carer], our neighbours, and [Church] for walking the long road with us. Your gentleness meant everything.'
• Simple: 'Thank you. To everyone who phoned, prayed, travelled, and helped in ways big and small — the [Surname] family is deeply grateful.'

Naming rules: institutions, not individuals

The safest rule is to thank groups and places rather than people by name. The moment you list one cousin or one neighbour, you risk leaving out another — and a missing name is remembered for years. Thank the ward, the members of the church, the burial society, the colleagues at work. If one person truly must be named — a primary carer, a doctor, the minister — name only that one, and let everyone see why. When in doubt, thank the role, not the person.

• Do this: 'the nurses of [Ward], the members of [Church], the [Name] Burial Society.'
• Take care with: long lists of individual names — they invite hurt when one is accidentally left off.
• If you must name someone: keep it to one or two whose role makes the reason obvious to everyone reading.

Where it goes in the programme

In a folded A5 programme — one A4 sheet folded in half — the acknowledgements usually sit on the outside back cover, or on the inside back page when a photograph fills the back. Give it a clear heading, 'Acknowledgements' or 'Words of Thanks', and centre it with a little space around it so it does not feel cramped against the order of service. If the family is large, a short line such as 'The [Surname], [Surname], and [Surname] families' can stand above the thanks to gather everyone in.

Thank-you cards afterwards

The programme thanks the room; a card thanks the person. In the weeks after the funeral — there is no rush — many families send a short printed card or a WhatsApp message to those who helped most, especially relatives who travelled far by taxi or bus and could not be thanked in person. Keep it brief: 'Thank you for being with us when we buried [Name]. Your kindness meant more than we could say.' A local print shop can run off matching cards from the same design as the programme.