The Parish of St Mary's, Handsworth, Sheffield

Images showing the congregation of St Mary's Church of Handsworth in Sheffield, a photograph of the church spire and a photo of St Mary and baby Jesus taken from a stained glass window from inside the church.

Funerals at St Mary's, Handsworth, Sheffield

Pastoral Introduction

God's love and power extend over all creation.

Every life, including our own, is precious to God.

Christians have always believed that there is hope in death as in life, and that there is new life in Christ over death.

Even those who share such faith find that there is a real sense of loss at the death of a loved one.

We will each have had our own experiences of their life and death, with different memories and different feelings of love, grief and respect.

To acknowledge this at the beginning of the service should help us to use this occasion to express our faith and our feelings as we say farewell, Book of Common Worship to acknowledge our loss and our sorrow, and to reflect on our own mortality.

Those who mourn need support and consolation. Our presence here today is part of that continuing support.

Taken from Common Worship 2000

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/lifeevents

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A celebration of the person's life at The Old Rectory

At the completion of the funeral service, many families and friends choose to hold a celebration at the Old Rectory which is attached to St Mary's.

The gardens with the historic and listed Old Rectory makes a quiet and peaceful venue for you.

There is free car parking, a licensed bar, excellent catering can be provided, various rooms and halls with disabled facilities are available, all at very competitive rates.

The king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
Matthew 25.34

It is customary for a funeral to be arranged in church or for me to conduct a funeral in a crematorium via an undertaker. In church it is possible to have either a funeral service or a funeral mass. Prior to the funeral service the priest will want to meet with you to discuss the service. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Fr Keith (0114) 269 3982.

A Christian funeral has several layers to it: It is a public celebration of the departed person's life set in the context of worship of almighty God who gave that life and who still holds that life in being; it is prayer for the departed and those who mourn; a commending of the departed to God; a public expression of grief and support to those who mourn and it moves to the reverent disposal of mortal remains. It is a service marked by Christian hope in the resurrection to eternal life and of ongoing communion between the living and departed.

The introduction of the Funeral Service (Common Worship 2000):

We have come here today
to remember before God our brother/sister (name);
to give thanks for his/her life;
to commend him/her to God our merciful redeemer and judge;
to commit his/her body to be buried/cremated,
and to comfort one another in our grief.

A prayer for the departed:

O God, the maker and redeemer of all, grant to us, with your servant, Name,
and all the departed, the sure benefits of your beloved Son's
saving Passion and glorious Resurrection;
that on the Last Day, when You gather up all things in Him,
we may, with them, enjoy the fullness of your promises.
We ask this in the Name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Prayer for those who mourn:

O God, who brought us to birth,
and in whose arms we die,
in our grief and shock
contain and comfort us;
embrace us with your love,
give us hope in our confusion
and grace to let go into new life;
through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Gracious God,
surround us and all who mourn this day
with your continuing compassion.
Do not let grief overwhelm your children,
or turn them against you.
When grief seems never-ending,
take them one step at a time
along your road of death and resurrection
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, you do not willingly grieve or afflict your children.
Look with pity on the suffering of this family in their loss.
Sustain them in their anguish;
and into the darkness of their grief
bring the light of your love;
through Jesus we pray. Amen.