The Parish of Flitwick

Church of England

Diocese of St Albans

Funerals

WHY HAVE A FUNERAL?

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.

CHURCH AND/OR CREMATORIUM

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 packed church. Whether in a parish church or a crematorium chapel, it can be the plain funeral service from the Prayer Book or Common Worship with the addition of hymns, favourite prayers and readings; an address. Whatever the pattern of service, the words and actions all speak of a loving God and the preciousness to Him of every human being.

Bedford Crematorium Chapel & Organist, Mike Puttock

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TAKING LEAVE

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.  

SERVICE CONTENT

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 packed church. Whether in a parish church or a crematorium chapel, it can be the plain funeral service from the Prayer Book or Common Worship with the addition of hymns, favourite prayers and readings; an address. Whatever the pattern of service, the words and actions all speak of a loving God and the preciousness to Him of every human being.  

ARRANGING A FUNERAL

The person who has died may have left a paragraph in their Will describing the sort of funeral arrangements they hoped for.  Naturally, the family will want to keep to such arrangements as far as possible. Not everyone knows that they have the right to a funeral in their parish church, even if they and the dead person have not been churchgoers.  Nor do practising Christians always realise that they can have a Communion service as part of the funeral.

Parish clergy 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. If one of the local clergy is to be asked to take the service, this will normally be done through the undertaker you have chosen to make the funeral arrangements.

The funeral director plays a very important part in all these arrangements and will want to know if the funeral is to be in the parish church or if the vicar is to take the service in the crematorium. Funeral directors know the local clergy, the local cemeteries and the crematoria. As part of a national network of funeral directors, they can, if necessary, give advice on funerals in other parts of the country, as well as on costs and fees.

BURIALS AND CREMATIONS

In many country parishes, the churchyard is still open for burials and the parish clergy are able to advise on suitable memorials.  In most towns, burials now take place in the local cemetery and the funeral director can advise. Flitwick Churchyard has been closed for some years now and the local cemetery adjoining the churchyard is administered by Flitwick Town Council for burials and ashes.

The Church of England has nothing against cremation; these days six out of I 0 funerals make use of the crematorium.  This leaves the question of what is to be done with the ashes.  Crematoria have gardens of rest where they can be buried or scattered and many churchyards have a special place set aside for burying ashes even when there is no space left for graves. When this burial takes place, usually a few days after the funeral, a further very brief service can be held if the family wish it and some suitable commemorative mark or record may be made.

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.  One often finds it is those who have suffered a close bereavement themselves, clergy or lay people, who can most easily offer comfort and support to those who mourn. 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.

This page last updated 28/07/2008