Funerals
A
funeral marks the close of a human life on earth. It is the opportunity for
friends and family to express their grief, to give thanks for the life which
has now completed its journey in this world and to commend the person into God's
keeping. As far back into history as
we can penetrate, human beings seem to have felt the need for a ceremonial
leave-taking of those who have died. The
funeral service of the Church of England can be very short and quiet with
only a few members of the family present or an occasion of great solemnity
with music, hymns and a church full of people. Whatever the pattern of service, the words
and actions all speak of a loving God and the preciousness to Him of every
human being. Questions of life and death The funeral service will reflect the personality of the one who has died and the circumstances of their death. Feelings of grief, gratitude, joy and sadness often intermingle. Funeral
services always raise profound questions about the meaning of life and death.
Jesus himself believed in a life-giving God: 'the God of the living, not of
the dead.' Christians believe that Christ's resurrection is the triumph of
good over evil and of life over death and has made eternal life available to
us. What
heaven is
like, none of us dare say too precisely, but we know that we shall delight in
the presence and love of God and of the whole company of heaven. Whatever is
wonderful about life here on earth is only a glimpse of the glory of the life
that is to come. Funerals in the Glen Group In the Glen Group the Vicar and ministerial
team regard the taking of funerals as an important part of their work. They give a lot of time to visiting
families, comforting those who are facing loss, finding out what service they
want to use and helping them to arrange it.
There is a team of seven people who are available to take funerals:
the Vicar, assistant clergy, and Lay Readers. The funeral director also plays a very
important part in arrangements. After
a death has taken place, the initial contact is usually with one of the local
firms of funeral directors: Addelsee’s, Boston (01205 311
303) Peter Bray,
Pinchbeck (01775 723 148) Clubley Funeral Services, Spalding (01775 723 199) Mark
Forth, Spalding (01775 720 800) J.
Willson, Spalding (01775 722 915) The funeral director will meet with the
family of the deceased and will want to know if the funeral is to be in the
local church or at the crematorium (or both); also whether a cremation or a
burial in the churchyard or cemetery is required. They will make arrangements with the Vicar
and book the church and/or crematorium.
The Vicar or one of the other licensed ministers will then visit the
family and help them decide on the order of service for the funeral. The funeral service The service begins with the priest or other minister reading aloud such reassuring sentences from the scriptures as: 'I am the resurrection and the life,' saith the Lord; 'he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die,' and: 'I know that my Redeemer liveth .…' A psalm - often The Lord is my shepherd – may follow and a lesson or lessons are read telling of God's care and of the hope of eternal life. At this point, there will usually be an address or a sermon remembering the life and work of the deceased and the great Christian beliefs about life beyond death. Prayers will be offered for the dead person and for those who grieve their loss. The
committal is a particularly solemn moment of the funeral service. It takes
place either at the graveside, or in the crematorium chapel, or in church
before the hearse leaves for the crematorium. In
the cemetery, the family will gather round the open grave into which the
coffin is lowered and they will hear the words: 'We therefore commit his (or her) body to the
ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain
hope of the Resurrection to eternal life.' Handfuls of
earth are then scattered on the coffin. In
a crematorium, the words of committal may be accompanied by the closing of a
curtain to hide the coffin from view or the coffin is moved slowly out of
sight. The
committal can be a very emotional moment. Many who are suffering grief find
that, even in their sadness, the words of prayer can lift them towards the
experience of Christian rejoicing in the knowledge of life beyond death. The offering of prayer and the trust that
the person is in God's safe hands can begin the process of healing the grief
of loss. Burials and cremations Burials can take place in Surfleet churchyard, West Pinchbeck churyard, or in Pinchbeck cemetery; Pinchbeck churyard has been closed for burials since there is no space left for graves. Nowadays however, six out of ten funerals make use of the crematorium. Boston and Peterborough are the nearest crematoria. Both of them have gardens of rest where ashes can be buried, or arrangements can be made for ashes to be interred in the Garden of Remembrance in any of the three churchyards. The interrment of ashes in a churchyard usually takes place a few days or weeks after the funeral, when a further very short service is held. The names of those whose ashes are in the Garden of Remembrance are recorded in the church. The churches also have a Book of Remembrance, in which families often like to have recorded the name of a loved one who has died. After the funeral People who have lost someone close to them are often
so busy with practical details and arrangements between the death and the
funeral that they do not experience the full sense of their loss until later. Grieving is a natural and important part of coming to
terms with and healing this loss and it may continue for several months. If
the clergy are asked, they will try to help. Comfort is also to be found in
the promises of Jesus Christ, in the hope of the Resurrection and in the
belief that the beloved person is safe in the hands of God. |