Funerals
I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown’. And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!’
Minnie Louise Haskins, God Knows
The funeral of a loved one acknowledges the closing of a human life on earth. A funeral service is an opportunity for family and friends to gather in a church or crematorium to express their grief, give thanks to God and celebrate the completed journey of an earthly life, and to commend the soul of the departed into God’s eternal keeping.
A funeral service conducted by a Scottish Episcopal Church minister can range from being very short and quiet with only a few members of a family present to an occasion of great solemnity with music, hymns, a eulogy offered by the minister or one of the mourners, the inclusion of favourite readings, and a full church.
Whatever the pattern of service, the words and actions all speak of a loving God and the preciousness to God of every human being.
At Holy Trinity we work with you to produce a service with readings, music and all the elements that can help to mark a person’s life. A funeral in the church or in a crematorium or funeral director’s parlour are all possible.
At a Christian funeral we have the hope that death is not the end for a person, and we will explore this with you as the service is planned. The graveyard at Holy Trinity is reserved for people with a connection to the church, but burials at any of the council cemeteries are possible.
Please let the funeral director know if you wish us to help with the funeral service: they will make the arrangements, sort out timing and deal with fees.