If you are suffering from terminal illness, or if you are caring for a relation, friend or neighbour who is close to death, your local Team Vicar is available to visit and offer spiritual help and comfort. Please go to the About Us area of this website for your local Team Vicar’s contact details.
Here are some frequently-asked questions and answers on death and funerals
There is a lot of very useful information available on the following websites which you will find helpful in guiding you through the process:
https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/funerals
https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-after-adeath
Choose a local Funeral Director without delay. Perhaps your friends or neighbours can recommend someone. Funeral Directors’ generally provide a 24 hour service and are able to come and care for the deceased immediately after death.
Once you appoint a Funeral Director they will take care of all the arrangements including contacting your local Team Vicar if the funeral is to be in church, or if you would like Clergy present at a Crematorium. Your Team Vicar will visit you at home to discuss and guide you through the funeral ceremony. If the person who has died left any guidance or requests about their funeral in their Will or personal papers, have these available when your Team Vicar visits.
Yes, provided there is space, they have a right to a funeral and burial in the churchyard of the parish in which they resided. However, there is no right to burial in a particular place in a churchyard.
Taking funerals and caring for the bereaved is an important of your local Team Vicar’s work. They will discuss the format for the funeral (service in church followed by burial or crematorium) in detail with you when they visit and help you to plan the service.
If you would like to have the funeral service at a crematorium rather than in church, the Vicar can be present to officiate if you wish and will go through the details with you.
They can be buried in the garden of rest at the crematorium or buried in a special place set aside in churchyards for ashes. In some cases, ashes may be buried in the grave of a deceased spouse or close relation. If the family wish it, the burial of ashes can take place within a short service in the Churchyard, usually held a few days after the funeral and cremation.
