FUNERALS

A funeral is an important part of the journey of grief for the family and friends of a person who has died. It is an opportunity to remember and give thanks to God for the person’s life with dignity and love. We pray for and support each other in grief, and lay our loved one’s mortal body to rest. We would be honoured to be part of this important, though difficult occasion, for you and your family.

This page will provide you with information to help you answer some questions about funerals and memorial services at our churches. Our ministers are also able to officiate at graveside and crematorium committals and at the interment of ashes. Please contact us so we can arrange for you to meet with one of our ministers.

To assist with the maintenance of our historic church buildings funeral fees apply. The minister can advise you of the current fees when you contact us.

Most of the local Funeral Directors have assisted with funerals at the Anglican churches of St John, St James and St Andrew. Please contact us before confirming funeral times and dates to ensure availability.

Remembering with dignity and love

Some people find planning the funeral with family and friends helps in their grieving. Our funeral services follow the traditions of the Anglican Church with flexibility so they reflect the life of your loved one. Perhaps you already know something of how your loved one wanted to be remembered. They may have planned for the service some time ago, or you may have planned it together. The minister who will lead the service will help you choose suitable readings, songs and prayers. It is customary for the minister to give a brief reflection. If they did not know your loved one well, they will want to talk with you to build up a picture of their life. Family and friends may also wish to offer words of remembrance.

The journey of grief

Each person’s experience of the death of a loved one is different. You might feel grief, gratitude, joy and anger – perhaps all mixed together. You might be grateful for a long and fruitful life, or perhaps you are hurting with the tragedy of an unexpected death.

Some deaths will be especially traumatic, distressing or unexpected. Anglican churches have special funeral services for children, or after sudden or violent deaths, including suicide. Please talk with one of our ministers about what is possible.

Questions of life and death

It is not unusual for the death of a loved one to raise profound personal questions about the meaning of life and death. You can talk to our ministers about how you are feeling, and the questions this has raised, either before the funeral or after when there is more time to reflect on these matters.

Faith and hope

Christianity is a faith founded upon Jesus of Nazareth, whom we believe God raised from the dead. Christians believe that all who die believing in Christ will be raised to new life with him. For Christians, a funeral is therefore a time of hope, as well as a time of grief.

Our hope is expressed in the words of Paul, one of the early Christian teachers, who wrote: “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 38–39).

To assist with the maintenance of our historic church buildings funeral fees apply. The minister can advise you of the current fees when you contact us.