Funerals & Memorials
If you would like to hold a funeral in St Mary’s, or you would like a minister to officiate at a funeral in a crematorium, we will gladly help you make the necessary arrangements. We are here to help you.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Parish Office or one of the clergy if you would like to talk things through. We would be happy to offer you our help and support not only now, but in the years ahead.
"If God is for us, who is against us? ... I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rules, 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 Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 8.31b, 38, 39
Death is a reality that faces us all. Church of England clergy are available for everyone, not just churchgoers, at times of bereavement. We can provide a funeral service in St Mary's Church or officiate at a crematorium chapel. Wherever the service is held, it will be personally designed to meet the needs of your family.
Christians believe that each of us is made in the image of God and we are all sustained by the love of God in this life and beyond. A Church of England funeral will always focus on a message of hope.
You can choose readings and music that best reflect the life of the person who has died. We can provide an organist, a choir (if desired), or the facility to play recorded music. You can take up a collection for a favourite charity. We offer space and help with refreshments after a service in church. If you are planning a leaflet for the service, we can help with that as well.
Clergy will visit a family before and after a funeral, to tailor the service in a personal way and to offer pastoral care to those who have been bereaved. We celebrate a Requiem Eucharist on the Sunday nearest All Souls' Day (2nd November) when we pray for those whose funerals we have conducted in the past year.
You can also arrange to hold a memorial service after a funeral or on the anniversary of a death. We can offer a plot in our memorial garden for the interment of ashes of church members.
Fees
Funeral service in church or crematorium £206
Burial of body preceding or following on from service in church £28
Cremation immediately preceding or following on from service in church £28
Organist £150
Register Search & One Copy £29
Choir, leaflet printing, refreshments by arrangement