When a loved one dies, please contact Father Henry so that prayers may be said as part of our daily worship.
A Church of England funeral is a church service which conforms to a basic structure, while allowing many personal touches in memory of a departed loved one. Many families wish to celebrate the departed’s life, and this can be achieved within that service. We ask God to care for the departed and we place them in His hands - this is known as the Commendation and Committal - in the knowledge that there is nothing better we can do for our loved one. The funeral service can be a very sad occasion, but it is a necessary part of the grieving process and it offers the Christian hope that God loves and cares for each one of us.
All bereaved families are invited to our All Soul's Day Mass (around 2 November), to remember those who have died in Christ and those whose funerals took place at St George's or with St George's clergy in the past year.
Arranging a Funeral
Most arrangements, including the finances, will be handled by the funeral director. Many people visit the funeral director first, though if you have a priest who you would like to take the service you should contact him as soon as possible.
Services may be a funeral, or a funeral Eucharist - a "Requiem Mass" - followed by a committal at a crematorium or graveside. Alternatively the full service can take place at either a crematorium or cemetery. The body may be received into the church the night before, so that the departed leaves on their final journey having rested in their spiritual home. Ashes may be interred in the grounds of St George’s Church (see notice in church porch for eligibility and conditions). A plain wooden cross with a plaque may be set up by where the ashes have been laid to rest.
The family and priest meet before the funeral to address any questions and discuss what the service might contain. Where service booklets are to be printed we can provide templates which can then be personalised. The family may find it useful to draw up their thoughts about the departed before they meet the priest and to have considered what music they would like. When thinking about music it is important to consider how appropriate it may be – not everything we might like to play will do justice to the service and the departed.
Funeral fee: £228 (in church or at a crematorium or cemetery)
Burial of cremated remains in churchyard immediately preceding or following a service in church £184 (£159 statutory fee plus £25 for the upkeep of the grounds)
Burial of cremated remains in churchyard on a separate occasion £217 (£192 statutory fee plus £25 for upkeep of the grounds)
Additional charges:-
Organist: £110
Choir: £130
For details of statutory charges for register searches, memorial crosses, plaques, etc. please contact Father Henry, or see www.cofe.anglican.org
More information on Church of England funerals is available here