There are numerous teams of people in our parishes who volunteer in ministries to serve the spiritual needs of parishioners at various stages of life. One of the teams, is the Funeral Ministry Team which serves all who arrive at our parishes to celebrate the funeral of their deceased loved ones. We recently celebrated the Remembrance Mass for all who died in the last year. We are blessed to have so many who are willing to give of their time and talents to make a difference in this celebration: those who provide music, prepare the church, manage the IT, organise the beautiful candles, inscribing the names of the deceased loved ones on each candle, formation of the leaflet, etc. Below is a summarised account of the service provided by the Funeral Ministry Teams in our parishes.

Ministry of Funeral Team

The Funeral Team accompanies the bereaved on their loved one's final journey.

Initially, the priest and a member of the Funeral Team meet with the bereaved family. We provide the family with a copy a booklet: A Celebration of Life which has information about the Funeral Liturgy and has examples of readings and prayers which might be used. We talk about the deceased person and the Funeral Mass. We also discuss if the bereaved would like prayers said the night before the funeral and/or on the morning of the funeral. We will be in the church on the morning of the funeral as a support.

If the priest or deacon is not available we can attend the crematorium or the graveside for the Final Committal if needed. It is our privilege to be a support as a difficult time.

We organise the Annual Remembrance Mass in November for all from the Parish who have died in the year. We specially invite the bereaved to this Mass.

Cathy Burke
Catechist in the Lucan Partnership of Parishes