To arrange a funeral ceremony the first contact is generally made with the Funeral Director who puts in place arrangements with the Church and contacts the parish. Fr Kevin or Deacon Eric will meet with the family and will discuss such items as the readings, hymns, prayer of the faithful etc.
The parish encourages the family to be fully involved in planning their loved one’s funeral liturgy. In the liturgy, the life of faith of the deceased is celebrated; we commend him or her to the Lord, we support and pray for all those who mourn, and we seek strength in the promise of the Lord that he will not forget his own.
In planning the liturgy, the family are invited to:
- Provide the priest or deacon with some biographical information about the deceased that will help him in preparing the funeral homily.
- Select the readings and responsorial psalm for the funeral Mass. One or more family members are encouraged to read.
- Choose or compose the general intercessions, which come after the homily. One or more family members should read the general intercessions.
- Choose family members or friends of the deceased to bring the gifts of bread and wine to the altar. (The presentation of the gifts is not the time to carry up personal memorabilia or symbols of the life of the deceased. The best time is at the beginning of the Mass or during the final commendation and farewell).
- Choose the hymns and music for the funeral Mass.
A selection of scripture readings for a funeral liturgy can be downloaded here: Funeral Readings
A selection of prayers of intercession for the Prayer of The Faithful can be downloaded here: Prayer of the Faithful
Altar List of the Dead:
You can add the names of your deceased loved ones to our Altar List of the Dead. Mass is celebrated on the First Friday of each month for all those whose names are on this list. Envelopes for this purpose are left in the Church porch during October. During the year you can arrange for the name of your loved one to be added to the altar list by contacting the parish office.