Funerals at Emmanuel

 

The death of a loved one is most often the hardest thing any of us have to experience in our lifetimes. Words cannot adequately express our sense of bereavement and loss that someone we love so very much is no longer with us.

As Christians we believe that death is not something to be feared, but rather the gate to eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus, whose warm and tender embrace includes everyone and excludes no one. A funeral service celebrates the life and love of the deceased but it is also an occasion when we commend them with great hope to the mercy and love of God in a journey which continues on into all eternity with him.

The clergy of Emmanuel Church are available at any time for counseling and support at such a time or to arrange a loved one’s funeral service – either in Emmanuel Church or in one of the local crematoria or cemeteries. Please do not hesitate to contact the Church (see here for our contact details).

For more details about a funeral in the Church of England please click here.

Some prayers on the death of a loved one:

 

Merciful Father,
hear our prayers and comfort us;
renew our trust in your Son,
whom you raised from the dead;
strengthen our faith
that all who have died in the love of Christ
will share in his resurrection;
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

O God, who brought us to birth,
and in whose arms we die,
in our grief and shock
contain and comfort us;
embrace us with your love,
give us hope in our confusion
and grace to let go into new life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

Father of all mercies and God of all consolation,
you pursue us with untiring love
and dispel the shadow of death
with the bright dawn of life.
Give comfort to us in our loss and sorrow.
Be our refuge and strength, O Lord,
Reassure us of your continuing love
and lift us from the depths of grief
into the peace and light of your presence.
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
by dying has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Your Holy Spirit, our comforter,
speaks for us in groans too deep for words.
Come alongside your people,
embrace us with your eternal presence
and give us your comfort and strength.  Amen.