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Shorts Kit — Graveside / Committal

Recording + upload kit for the 5 spoke Shorts of the Graveside Committal hub. Hub (set as the related-video link on ALL five AFTER it publishes): [Graveside hub URL — paste after upload] Channel: Pastor John | The Sermon Prep Desk (@SermonPrepDesk) · Content source: graveside-committal-pack.md (the hub script; every Short below is cut from a numbered chapter there).

Fresh vertical re-records, not crops of the hub. 20–40s each. Hook in the first 1 second (stamp the hook line on frame 1 as on-screen text AND say it first), no intro, no music. ONE idea, ONE spoken CTA per Short. Burned-in captions, upper-third safe zone, cut every pause over ~250ms.

Dignity-first rules (funeral/grief content — non-negotiable): tender, never performative; if a line feels like it is using grief, cut it. No provocation-for-clicks. The verbal funnel CTA is always "the full committal card is on the channel," never "link below." Do NOT make a Short from the child's-committal or unbeliever-committal material (it belongs only in the longform, where context can hold it).

End-of-Life cluster: every Short's related-video → the Graveside hub; set the Psalm 23 funeral flagship on the end screen, and add all five to the End-of-Life Ministry + Funerals, Weddings & Hard Weeks playlists. The funeral → the graveside is the binge path.

Vertical Recording Checklist (once, before Short ①)​

  • OBS profile: SermonWise Shorts — vertical 1080×1920, 30 fps, close framing (head and shoulders fill the frame)
  • Mic gain check before rolling
  • Lower third: Pastor John | SermonWise.ai
  • Record all five in ONE session file, in order ①–⑤, ~3s pause between each (so the renderer can split on silence)
  • First line of each = the hook, cold. No "hey," no "Pastor John here."
  • Burned-in captions on every Short
  • After upload: related-video link → the Graveside hub, end-screen → the Psalm 23 funeral flagship, add to both playlists, pin the comment question

Short ① — The 4 sentences every committal needs (from hub ch. 3)​

Script (~38s, word for word)​

Five minutes at the grave, and the family will replay it for the rest of their lives. Here's the whole committal, in six moves.

One: a gathering word — call the few who came into the moment. Two: read one resurrection text, plainly. Three: the committal itself — "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, in sure and certain hope." Four: a short prayer — the person entrusted to God, the family held. Five: the Lord's Prayer; invite them in, because it's the one prayer they can still pray. Six: a blessing — and then you stop talking and stand with them.

Gather, read, commit, pray, pray together, bless. Print it on a card. The full committal, word for word, is on the channel.

CTA type: funnel (channel). HOOK (verbatim, eyes up): "Five minutes at the grave. They'll replay it forever. Here's the whole service." Glance prompts: 5 min → replayed for life → gather → read → commit → pray → Lord's Prayer → bless → print the card → CTA.

Upload metadata​

  • Title: The 4 Sentences Every Graveside Committal Needs
  • Description opener: The whole graveside committal in four moves: gather, read one resurrection text, commit the body ("earth to earth, in sure and certain hope"), and bless. Five minutes the family replays forever. (append the standing block + links from funeral-upload-optimization.md)
  • Hashtags: #Committal #GravesideService #SermonPrep
  • Pinned comment: What do you open with at the graveside?
  • Playlists: End-of-Life Ministry · Funerals, Weddings & Hard Weeks

Short ② — "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes" — what it means (from hub ch. 5)​

Script (~36s, word for word)​

Don't say "earth to earth, ashes to ashes" on autopilot. It's the most honest line you'll speak all year.

It comes straight from Genesis 3: "you are dust, and to dust you shall return." It refuses the lie that death isn't real — the body really is going into the ground. But it never stops there. "Earth to earth" is followed by "in sure and certain hope of the resurrection." The hardest true thing and the best true thing, in one breath.

If the family hasn't been in church, take ten seconds to say exactly that. Honesty, then hope. Never one without the other.

Do you still use the old committal words? Tell me below.

CTA type: comment (community). HOOK (verbatim, eyes up): "Don't say 'earth to earth' on autopilot. It's the most honest line you'll speak." Glance prompts: not autopilot → Genesis 3:19 → refuses the lie → ...in sure and certain hope → hardest + best in one breath → ten seconds for the unchurched → ASK below.

Upload metadata​

  • Title: Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes: What You're Actually Saying
  • Description opener: Don't say "earth to earth, ashes to ashes" on autopilot. It comes straight from Genesis 3:19, and it's the most honest line in the whole service: the hardest true thing and the best true thing in one breath. (append the standing block + links)
  • Hashtags: #Committal #GravesideService #Preaching
  • Pinned comment: Do you still use the old committal words, or your own?
  • Playlists: End-of-Life Ministry · Funerals, Weddings & Hard Weeks

Short ③ — The graveside is not a second sermon (from hub ch. 7)​

Script (~34s, word for word)​

The number one mistake at the graveside: preaching the funeral all over again.

You already preached. The family is spent, and cold, and standing. The committal is not the sermon — it's its own short service: a verse, the words of committal, a prayer, a blessing. Five to eight minutes. Say less, and mean all of it.

And the most pastoral thing you do all day might be the ninety seconds after "Amen" — when you don't herd anyone to their cars, you just stand there with them.

How long should a committal be? Tell me below.

CTA type: comment (community). HOOK (verbatim, eyes up): "The mistake at the grave: preaching the whole funeral all over again." Glance prompts: #1 mistake → you already preached → spent, cold, standing → its own short service → 5–8 min → the 90 seconds after "Amen" → ASK below.

Upload metadata​

  • Title: The Graveside Is Not a Second Sermon (the #1 mistake)
  • Description opener: The most common graveside mistake: preaching the funeral all over again. The committal is its own short service. Keep it to five minutes. Say less, mean all of it. (append the standing block + links)
  • Hashtags: #Committal #GravesideService #SermonPrep
  • Pinned comment: How long should a committal be?
  • Playlists: End-of-Life Ministry · Funerals, Weddings & Hard Weeks

Short ④ — What to do with your hands at the graveside (from hub ch. 6)​

Script (~38s, word for word)​

Nobody ever taught you where to stand at a grave, so you fumble it on the hardest day of someone's life. Here's what to do.

Stand at the head of the casket, facing the family, so they're looking at you and not down into the grave. Lower your voice and slow down — wind and grief both eat words. When you say "we commit his body," lay your hand on the casket; let your body say what your mouth is saying.

Ask the funeral director when it lowers, and if you can, stay until it's down. Then give them the pause, and don't fill it.

What's the thing no one taught you about the graveside? Tell me below.

CTA type: comment (community). HOOK (verbatim, eyes up): "Nobody ever taught you where to stand at a grave. So you fumble it. Here's what to do." Glance prompts: no one taught you → head of the casket, face the family → slow down → hand on the casket → ask about the lowering, stay → the pause, don't fill it → ASK below.

Upload metadata​

  • Title: What to Do With Your Hands at the Graveside
  • Description opener: Nobody teaches the choreography of a committal, so pastors fumble it. Where to stand, when to touch the casket, whether to stay for the lowering, and the pause you must not fill. (append the standing block + links)
  • Hashtags: #GravesideService #PastoralCare #Committal
  • Pinned comment: What did no one teach you about the graveside?
  • Playlists: End-of-Life Ministry · Funerals, Weddings & Hard Weeks

Short ⑤ — The graveside in the rain (from hub ch. 8)​

Script (~33s, word for word)​

Sleet, wind, a tent that won't keep anyone dry, a crowd of three.

When the weather's brutal, cut the committal to the bone: a gathering word, one verse, the committal, the blessing. Don't apologize for the rain — just shorten and steady. Nobody ever wished the graveside in the sleet had been longer.

And don't let the service shrink because the crowd did. Commit this body with the same gravity you'd use in front of three hundred. The God you're speaking to is the audience.

What's your worst-weather graveside story? Tell me below.

CTA type: comment (community). HOOK (verbatim, eyes up): "Sleet, wind, a tent that won't keep anyone dry, a crowd of three. Cut the committal to four lines." Glance prompts: brutal weather → cut to the bone (gather, verse, commit, bless) → don't apologize, shorten + steady → don't shrink for a small crowd → God is the audience → ASK below.

Upload metadata​

  • Title: The Graveside in the Rain: What Changes
  • Description opener: Sleet, wind, a tent that won't keep anyone dry, a crowd of three. Cut the committal to the bone: gathering word, one verse, the committal, the blessing. Don't apologize for the weather; shorten and steady. (append the standing block + links)
  • Hashtags: #GravesideService #Committal #PastoralCare
  • Pinned comment: Your worst-weather graveside story?
  • Playlists: End-of-Life Ministry · Funerals, Weddings & Hard Weeks

Suggested publish schedule (alternating funnel / comment)​

DayShortCTA
1① The 4 sentencesChannel
2③ Not a second sermonComment
3② Earth to earthComment
4④ What to do with your handsComment
5⑤ The graveside in the rainComment

Reply to every comment in the 7-day window. Per Short after upload: related-video → Graveside hub, end-screen → Psalm 23 funeral flagship, add to both playlists, pin the comment question.

Voice check (before release)​

  • Tender, never performative. If a line feels like it is using grief for reach, cut it.
  • One CTA per Short — channel line OR comment question, never both spoken.
  • No "link below" — always "on the channel."
  • Nothing from the child's-committal or unbeliever-committal material becomes a Short.
  • The committal words are drawn from the hub's classic/Reformed-friendly liturgy — say them the way your tradition does.