Who handles a funeral for the unknown in Nashville? A new clergy-led initiative aims to fill the void

Brian Marcoulier, lead pastor of Bellevue United Methodist Church, praying at a funeral service on Jan. 26, 2022 for Call the Name, an initiative in which local clergy honor individuals who were deemed abandoned at the time of their death.
Brian Marcoulier, lead pastor of Bellevue United Methodist Church, praying at a funeral service on Jan. 26, 2022 for Call the Name, an initiative in which local clergy honor individuals who were deemed abandoned at the time of their death.

Every person who dies deserves dignity — even if no one knows their name.

A new clergy-led initiative in Nashville wants to send that message and recently launched to give that treatment to those who died and can't be identified or with no family to pay for a burial.

"It's important to remember that people are not abandoned. They are part of the same beloved community and they are beloved whether we know them or not," Jeannie Alexander, an ordained minister and executive director of No Exceptions Prison Collective, said in an interview.

Alexander was one of four clergies at a funeral service on Jan. 26 to honor two individuals being buried at Hills of Calvary Memorial Park in Northwest Nashville. The funeral services were the 33rd and 34th since the initiative, Call the Name, officially started in November.

Jay Voorhees, pastor of City Road Chapel United Methodist Church in Nashville, launched Call the Name after Metro Nashville Social Services asked Voorhees to preside over a funeral service last summer for seven people as part of the department's indigent burial program.

"It was really lonely," Voorhees said in an interview. "To think about these folks that have no one at the end of their life to claim them or call them out."

Clergy presiding over a funeral service on Jan. 26, 2022 for the Call the Name initiative to honor 
individuals who were deemed abandoned. From left to right, Brian Marcoulier, lead pastor of Bellevue United Methodist Church, Greg Bullard, pastor of Covenant of the Cross Church, Jeannie Alexander, an ordained minister and executive director of No Exceptions Prison Collective, and Jay Voorhees, pastor of City Road Chapel United Methodist Church.

The city's indigent burial program covers the basic burial costs for those who died without sufficient resources to cover the expenses. Often, the individuals do not have family to claim their bodies or are considered "abandoned" by first responders at the time of their death.

After that first funeral service, Voorhees asked the city if he could do the same thing on a more regular basis.

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Many of the services follow a similar pattern to the one on Jan. 26. It was 19 degrees and few were in attendance, except for the clergy participating: Voorhees, Alexander, Brian Marcoulier, lead pastor of Bellevue United Methodist Church, and Greg Bullard, pastor of Covenant of the Cross Church.

The four took turns reading the Bible and a benediction while placing their hands on the caskets of Yvette Kahle and Deborah Fleming. Fleming's caretaker at the long-term care facility where Fleming died also attended Fleming's service.

"It's one of the corporal acts of mercy," Alexander said about her decision to participate in the service. "Our traditions vary, but burying the dead is essential. It's part of our calling."

Local clergy join for a funeral service on Jan. 26, 2022 to honor several individuals being buried as part of the Metro Nashville Social Services indigent burial program. The initiative that recruits clergy to pray for those being buried is Call the Name.
Local clergy join for a funeral service on Jan. 26, 2022 to honor several individuals being buried as part of the Metro Nashville Social Services indigent burial program. The initiative that recruits clergy to pray for those being buried is Call the Name.

Like Fleming, some of the individuals were in long-term care facilities. Others were individuals experiencing homelessness. Voorhees said there has been one Jane Doe or a woman whose identity was unknown.

In that instance, "I had to think through a little bit the ritual we were going to do with that," Voorhees said. "But somebody knew their name and we are still going to stand there with them as best we can.”

Not forgetting is the whole point, Voorhees said. Sharing the backstory behind the initiative's name, Voorhees quoted Davie Tucker, his friend and a fellow Nashville pastor, who once told Voorhees: "Nobody dies if you call their name."

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Clergy-led initiative handles funerals for unknown in Nashville