In Sure and Certain Hope
The Revd Paul Sheppy is a member of the Churches Funerals Group, which produced Funeral Services, and a trustee of the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain.
He is a Baptist Minister based in Reading and the author of Each Day, Each Night, also published by the Canterbury Press.
In Sure and Certain Hope
Liturgies, prayers and readings for funerals and memorials
Written and compiled by
Paul Sheppy
Copyright information
© in this compilation Paul Sheppy 2003
First published in 2003 by the Canterbury Press Norwich
(a publishing imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Limited,
a registered charity)
St Mary’s Works, St Mary’s Plain,
Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 3BH
www.scm-canterburypress.co.uk
Third impression 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Canterbury Press
The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
ISBN 978 1 85311 514 1
Typeset by Regent Typesetting, London
Printed and bound by MPG Books, Bodmin, Cornwall
Contents
Christian Funeral Rites: A Theological Consideration
Prayers at (or immediately after) the Time of Death
Reception of the Body into Church
Prayers and Readings before a Funeral
Appendix 1: Some Suggested Bible Readings
Appendix 2: Reflections and Prayers
Order for Burial or Cremation after a Funeral Service in Church
A Funeral Service for Use at a Cemetery or Crematorium
The Commemoration of the Dead on All Souls’ Day
Appendix: Suggested Bible Readings
Remembrance of Those who have Died: on the Anniversary of their Death
Notes: Sources and Acknowledgements
An Introduction
This book is intended as a resource for those taking services connected with death, dying and bereavement. It offers a number of orders of service, suggestions for scripture readings and prayers (for use both generally and in special circumstances) and a number of other readings and reflections which a visitor may use as a ‘bridge’ in planning with families and friends for funeral or memorial services. It also includes a theological and pastoral commentary explaining in more detail the way in which the various services came to be structured.
What is provided may be followed closely or adapted for use, according to preference and customary practice. No one funeral is exactly the same as another – although the framework will normally be substantially similar. The aim, therefore, has been to offer guidance rather than to prescribe performance. Ministers and others are invited to be free in their use of what they find here. Obviously, many of those who take funerals have the service books of their own traditions. This book is offered as a collection of complementary and supplementary resources. Ministers should feel free to adopt and adapt what they find according to the particular circumstances in which they minister to the dying and the bereaved. Where Holy Communion is to be celebrated in the context of the funeral service, ministers should follow the forms provided by their own traditions.
Much of the work was undertaken when I was a member of the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain, and I am grateful to colleagues for the detailed comments they made while the work was in progress. My particular thanks should go to Bill Gabb, Kevin McGinnell and Nigel Uden, who saw the work in its initial stages and enabled me to eradicate all sorts of slips and infelicities. None of these friends, however, should be held to account for the final result.
In thirty years of ministry, I have sat with the dying and the bereaved and I have attempted to share with them in tears and laughter something of the hope that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ represent. Tears come naturally at times of death, but laughter does come too. Stories are told which may bring a smile, memories are kindled which may raise a laugh. Into those stories comes the story of Jesus who taught his disciples to weep
