Printed service order

Funeral for N or M

32^nd Noctember 1066 at

St John the Baptist’s Church, Ault Hucknall

Conducted by……..

At the entrance of the Coffin all stand

Sentences

Words of introduction

Hymn Hymn words printed below

Readings

Possible extra reading by family/friend

Psalm 23 (read if not sung as the above hymn)

Bible Reading (John 14.1-6 unless family choose other appropriate)

Sermon

Prayers

Response during prayers

Priest: Lord in your mercy

All: Hear our prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hymn (Words printed below)

Commendation

Committal

The family is very happy to invite everyone to the Old Bull and Bush for refreshments after the service.

Donations in lieu of flowers will be given to the

Treacle Benders' Retirement Home

Half of the Church collection will be allocated to this charity.

A selection of the following may be reproduced in the service order above..

Appropriate copyright acknowledgements must be reproduced as at the end of the order below.

The Funeral Service

Pastoral Introduction

This may be read silently by those present before the service begins.

God’s love and power extend over all creation. Every life, including our own, is precious to God. Christians have always believed that there is hope in death as in life, and that there is new life in Christ after death.

Even those who share such faith find that there is a real sense of loss at the death of a loved one. We will each have had our own experiences of their life and death, with different memories and different feelings of love, grief and respect. To acknowledge this at the beginning of the service should help us to use this occasion to express our faith and our feelings as we say farewell, to acknowledge our loss and our sorrow, and to reflect on our own mortality. Those who mourn need support and consolation. Our presence here today is part of that continuing support.

The Funeral Service

¶ The Gathering

‘I am the resurrection and the life,’ says the Lord. ‘Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’
John 11.25,26

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, 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 Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8.38,39

Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. So we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4.14,17b,18

We brought nothing into the world, and we take nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
1 Timothy 6.7; Job 1.21b

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is his faithfulness.
Lamentations 3.22,23

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5.4

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
John 3.16

Introduction

The minister says

We meet in the name of Jesus Christ,
who died and was raised to the glory of God the Father.
Grace and mercy be with you.
[All And also with you.]

The minister introduces the service in these or other suitable words

We have come here today
to remember before God our brother/sister N;
to give thanks for his/her life;
to commend him/her to God our merciful redeemer and judge;
to commit his/her body to be buried/cremated,
and to comfort one another in our grief.

The minister may say a prayer

God of all consolation,
your Son Jesus Christ was moved to tears
at the grave of Lazarus his friend.
Look with compassion on your children in their loss;
give to troubled hearts the light of hope,
and strengthen in us the gift of faith,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.

Hymn

A brief tribute may be made.

Prayers of Penitence

As children of a loving heavenly Father,
let us ask his forgiveness,
for he is gentle and full of compassion.

Silence may be kept.

God of mercy,
we acknowledge that we are all sinners.
We turn from the wrong that we have thought and said and done,
and are mindful of all that we have failed to do.
For the sake of Jesus, who died for us,
forgive us for all that is past,
and help us to live each day
in the light of Christ our Lord.
All Amen.

May God our Father forgive us our sins,
and bring us to the eternal joy of his kingdom
where dust and ashes have no dominion.
All Amen.

The minister invites the people to pray, and silence is kept.

The Collect

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.
All Amen.

¶ Readings and Sermon

Psalm or Canticle

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; ♦
therefore can I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures ♦
and leads me beside still waters.

3 He shall refresh my soul ♦
and guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4              Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
                I will fear no evil; ♦
for you are with me;
                your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5              You spread a table before me
                in the presence of those who trouble me; ♦
you have anointed my head with oil
                and my cup shall be full.

6 Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life, ♦
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Reading

A sermon is preached.

¶ Prayers

Led by: None

The prayers usually follow this sequence:

¶ Thanksgiving for the life of the departed

¶ Prayer for those who mourn

¶ Prayers of Penitence (if not already used)

¶ Prayer for readiness to live in the light of eternity

God of mercy, Lord of life,
you have made us in your image
to reflect your truth and light:
we give you thanks for N,
for the grace and mercy he/she received from you,
for all that was good in his/her life,
for the memories we treasure today.
[Especially we thank you ...]
Silence
[Lord, in your mercy
All hear our prayer.]

You promised eternal life to those who believe.
Remember for good this your servant N
as we also remember him/her.
Bring all who rest in Christ
into the fullness of your kingdom
where sins have been forgiven
and death is no more.
Silence
[Lord, in your mercy
All hear our prayer.]

Your mighty power brings joy out of grief
and life out of death.
Look in mercy on [... and] all who mourn.
Give them patient faith in times of darkness.
Strengthen them with the knowledge of your love.
Silence
[Lord, in your mercy
All hear our prayer.]

You are tender towards your children
and your mercy is over all your works.
Heal the memories of hurt and failure.
Give us the wisdom and grace to use aright
the time that is left to us here on earth,
to turn to Christ and follow in his steps
in the way that leads to everlasting life.
Silence
[Lord, in your mercy
All hear our prayer.]

All God of mercy,
entrusting into your hands all that you have made
and rejoicing in our communion with all your
faithful people,
we make our prayers through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.

Hymn

¶ Commendation and Farewell

The minister stands by the coffin and may invite others to gather around it.

The minister says

Let us commend N to the mercy of God,
our maker and redeemer.

Silence is kept.

God our creator and redeemer,
by your power Christ conquered death
and entered into glory.
Confident of his victory
and claiming his promises,
we entrust N to your mercy
in the name of Jesus our Lord,
who died and is alive
and reigns with you,
now and for ever.
All Amen.

If the Committal does not follow as part of the same service in the same place, some sections of the Dismissal may be used here.

¶ The Committal

The minister says

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and of great goodness.
As a father is tender towards his children,
so is the Lord tender to those that fear him.
For he knows of what we are made;
he remembers that we are but dust.
Our days are like the grass;
we flourish like a flower of the field;
when the wind goes over it, it is gone
and its place will know it no more.
But the merciful goodness of the Lord endures
for ever and ever toward those that fear him
and his righteousness upon their children’s children.

We have entrusted our brother/sister N to God’s mercy,
and now, in preparation for burial,
we give his/her body to be cremated.
We look for the fullness of the resurrection
when Christ shall gather all his saints
to reign with him in glory for ever.
All Amen.

¶ The Dismissal

All Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

Nunc dimittis (The Song of Simeon)

1 Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace: ♦
your word has been fulfilled.

2 My own eyes have seen the salvation ♦
which you have prepared in the sight of every people;

3 A light to reveal you to the nations ♦
and the glory of your people Israel.

Luke 2.29-32

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Prayers

All          Heavenly Father,
in your Son Jesus Christ
you have given us a true faith and a sure hope.
Strengthen this faith and hope in us all our days,
that we may live as those who believe in
                the communion of saints,
                the forgiveness of sins
                and the resurrection to eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

All God be in my head,
and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes,
and in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
and in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
and in my thinking;
God be at my end,
and at my departing.
Amen.

Support us, O Lord,
all the day long of this troublous life,
until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,
the busy world is hushed,
the fever of life is over
and our work is done.
Then, Lord, in your mercy grant us a safe lodging,
a holy rest, and peace at last;
through Christ our Lord.
All Amen.

Ending

May God in his infinite love and mercy
bring the whole Church,
living and departed in the Lord Jesus,
to a joyful resurrection
and the fulfilment of his eternal kingdom.
All Amen.

Copyright acknowledgement (where not already indicated above):