Did you know that ANYONE who lives in the parish or whose death occurs in the parish has a right to have their parish priest conduct their funeral either in the parish church or at a Crematorium? Others who have a significant link to the parish may also choose to have their funeral service or the service of a loved one here too.
If you ask for the service to be conducted by a priest either in church or the crematorium it will be a Christian Service that includes prayers and a Bible Reading and a Christian message of hope. This is done sensitively without assuming that the deceased or everyone present will have a Christian faith and will often acknowledge this. Your priest can conduct the service at the Church or the Crematorium or we can have the main service in church and go to the crematorium for the final committal and cremation, the family and others may accompany this or just the priest if that is what is most helpful.
The advantages of church funerals are that the atmosphere is one of peace and prayer but where joy and laughter, sorrow and tears can be shared and are appropriate. There is a vast choice of music and other content available and the church will have flowers and the opportunity to light a candle. We can also conduct funerals at The Ascension if this is appropriate for you and St Mary’s Akenham too, where the graveyard is still open for further burials.
The main advantage is probably that we have so much more time to craft the sort of service you wish for. At the Crematorium we are limited to between 25 and 35 minutes which if the person has ahd a long and full life is not very long to celebrate and give thanks for it, or to have time for some quiet thoughts.
Funeral Ministry is taken very seriously here at Whitton and it is always great privilege for us to conduct these, as we are aware that this is the final thing a family can do for their loved one, so we invest a great deal in getting it right. We work well alongside our funeral director colleagues to make it as positive an experience as we can for you. It is rare that we cannot accommodate the time and day you wish for as there are two or three of us able to conduct the service and we try to fit as best we can with your requirements. You are welcome to contact us directly or ask the funeral director you choose to do so on your behalf.
Although the churchyard is closed meaning we cannot add any further burials to it we can inter ashes in our Millennium Yew Garden or a plot near to the hedge. We can add the burial of a family member to an existing grave.
After the funeral we will be there for family to provide support in their bereavement as they wish. We will also invite the family to our annual ‘Service of Light and Life’ in November each year to remember their loved ones.
If you have specific wishes for your funeral and would like to be able to help your loved ones decide what to do after at eh end of your life, we have an easy to use form that you can download here. Once you have filled it in, we suggest you give a copy to your next of kin and maybe place one with your Will, you can also send one back to us to keep confidentially on file and tell your loved ones you have done so.
Please do not hesitate to talk to us if you have any questions or need further information.