St Mary’s Church Whitegate
© 2010 St Mary’s Church Whitegate Cheshire
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 to God for the life of someone at the end of their journey in this world and to commend them into God’s keeping and to pray for ourselves. The funeral service of the Church of England can be simple and quiet with only a few members of the family present or an occasion of great solemnity with music, hymns and a packed church. The Order of Service may be from the Book of Common Prayer (1662) or from Common Worship (2000). Whatever the pattern of service, the words and actions all speak of a loving God and the preciousness to him of every human being, and in particular, the person you love who has died.
Everyone has a right to a funeral in the Church of England church in their parish, whether they are a churchgoer or not. We see taking funerals as an important part of the ministry of the parish church of St Mary’s Whitegate and we gladly give our time to talk through your loss and to help to arrange whatever kind of funeral service is most appropriate. You are entitled to a funeral service at St Mary’s if you live in the parish, are on the church electoral roll or have a grave in the churchyard. Please ask the Funeral Director to contact the Revd Lesley Eden, Vicar on 01606 882151.
After the Funeral
People who have lost someone close to them are often 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 some time. The staff team of the parish of St Mary’s are always willing to try to help, if you would like to talk to someone please call the parish office on 01606 882151 or email lesley.eden@stmaryswhitegate.org
Memorials in the Churchyard
Making arrangements for the last resting place for loved ones is an important and often distressing responsibility. Many choose burial or interment of cremated remains in consecrated ground. Christian burial in a churchyard must always be reverent and basic rules – the Diocesan Churchyard Regulations – exist to maintain the highest possible standards and to guide those charged with making sensitive decisions.
Please respect and comply with the regulations – the maintenance of churchyards is a considerable task and the regulations are designed to achieve a fair balance between the need to ease the task of maintenance and the wishes of families to commemorate the persons they love – and continue to love.
Please remember that you need the Vicar’s permission for a memorial, the inscription and anything that you want to place on the grave. All applications must be in writing and a stone mason or funeral director would be happy to assist you in this matter.
To contact the Parish Office, please telephone 01606 882151 or email
