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Christian condolence message.
What to write.

Name the person they lost and say you are sorry. If you share their faith, add a few words of it. That is enough.

The messages are sorted by who is signing. Pick the group that fits you, and choose one that sounds like something you would actually say.

Create a cardRead a sample card

Everyone's words in one card.

Updated

A bird. Thinking of you and your family.

Our prayers are with you, and so are we.

From Ben

We lost them too, and we grieve with you.

From Nadia

Holding you all in prayer.

From Joe

Pick a design

  • Botanical sympathy card. Thinking of you.
  • A teapot. Thinking of you. The kettle's always on here.
  • A candle in a dark window. Thinking of you.
  • Lino-cut lettering in a printed band. So sorry. With love.
  • A bird. Sending you strength.
  • Lino-cut lettering in a printed band. There are no right words. We're thinking of you.
  • A bench. Remembering the good times with them.
  • Cutpaper sympathy card. Thinking of you.
  • A tree. With deepest sympathy.
  • A candle. Thinking of you.

The question

Each writer gets a question.

One at a time, about Sam. They answer in their own words, or write without one.

Who they are to you
  1. A memory you would like Sam to have.
  2. Something you saw between them that you will not forget.
  3. A thing you learned from the person who has died.
  4. Something kind you saw Sam do for them.
  5. What you will remember them for.
  6. A plain offer of help you mean to keep.
  1. The moment you knew you had a proper friend in Sam.
  2. Something Sam did that only a friend would.
  3. A thing you still laugh about together.
  4. The time Sam turned up when it mattered.
  5. Something Sam knew about you before you said it.
  1. Something Sam did for the family that went unsaid.
  2. A habit of Sam's that you have caught yourself copying.
  3. A memory of Sam from when you were younger.
  4. Something Sam put up with from you.
  5. Something Sam taught you, mostly by example.
  1. A small thing Sam did that you noticed and never mentioned.
  2. The moment you knew.
  3. Something Sam did this year that made things easier for you.
  4. A thing about Sam you would not change.
  5. Something Sam carried that was yours to carry.
  1. The thing you go to Sam for.
  2. Something you picked up from working beside Sam.
  3. A bad day at work that Sam turned round.
  4. Something a new starter should be told about Sam.
  5. Something Sam did that made the job feel worth doing.

Or write without one.

Christian condolence messages for a card

Pick one, add their name if it fits, and sign it.

Sharing the same faith

  • We are praying for you. They lived their faith and we are grateful to have known them.

  • God's peace, which passes understanding, is what we wish for you today.

  • Grief is real, and so is the hope we share. We are here.

  • Thinking of you and trusting the God who knew and loved them.

  • Our prayers are with you, and so are we.

From family

  • We lost them too, and we grieve with you.

  • Our faith holds even when it hurts to feel it. We are beside you.

  • They are known and loved, here and beyond. So are you.

  • Praying together, and together in everything that comes next.

From the wider circle

  • We did not know them as well as you did, but we saw what they meant to you. We are so sorry.

  • Our prayers are with you. Please reach out if there is anything at all we can do.

  • Thinking of you and your family. So sorry for your loss.

  • Holding you all in prayer.

With scripture

  • May the God of all comfort be near to you. We are thinking of you.

  • Blessed are those who mourn. We are praying that comfort finds you.

  • He heals the brokenhearted. That is the promise we are holding for you.

  • Cast your cares on him, for he cares for you. We are holding onto that promise for you.

Short

  • Praying for you.

  • With love and prayers.

  • So sorry. Praying for peace.

  • Thinking of you. Praying for comfort.

  • In our prayers, always.

What to leave out

Do not write that everything happens for a reason, or that God needed another angel. Both are meant kindly and both land badly when someone is in fresh grief.

Do not quote a long passage of scripture. One phrase or a single verse is comfort. A paragraph reads as a sermon, and the card is not the moment for that.

Do not suggest their grief should be smaller because of their faith. Belief in resurrection does not make the loss less real, and implying it does is unkind.

Do not state where the person is now as a fact. You can write the hope. You cannot write the certainty, and they will notice the difference.

One card from everyone who knew them

Set it to open on the day of the service, or the week after. Everyone signs from one link, in their own time.

  1. 01

    Set the date.

    The day of the service works well, or a few days after. The card waits and opens when you set it.

  2. 02

    Share the link.

    Family, friends, anyone who knew them. Each person signs once, from their phone or laptop, wherever they are.

  3. 03

    They read it when they need it.

    Every message with a name beside it. It stays with them long after the service.

Create a card

Questions

What do you write in a Christian condolence card?

Name the person who died and say you are sorry. Offer a word of faith if you share it. Short is kind.

Is it okay to include scripture in a condolence message?

Yes, a single verse or a short phrase is enough. Keep it as comfort, not instruction.

Should you say they are in a better place?

Only if you know they believed that. Write the hope, not the certainty, and they will feel the difference.

Part of group sympathy card.

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