“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”
The Church is there for people at difficult times as well as easy ones.
The clergy in this parish are happy both to officiate at funerals in church (usually followed by a burial or cremation at Kingston Crematorium) or to take a service just in the chapel at a crematorium, for anyone who has died in the parish, or who has a connection with the church. Typically, the way to organise this is initially by going to the funeral director and explaining what you wish to happen. You do not have to have attended church to have a funeral in church.
One of the great advantages of having a funeral in church is that we can accommodate a large number of mourners, if that is relevant, and also timing is less of an issue than it is at a crematorium, where often the only time possible is a 40 minute slot.
At a meeting with the funeral director, explain that you would like a church funeral and they will be in touch with us to arrange a time that suits the family, the church and the crematorium.
It is possible to organise the burial of ashes in our garden of remembrance both at St Mark’s and at St Andrew’s, but as these are green spaces, we do not have memorial plaques.
Every year, on the Sunday nearest the end of October, we have a service of remembrance for those who have died, sometimes called “All Souls”. Everyone whose funerals we have taken in the last two years is remembered by name at that service and the family is invited to attend.