Parish of St John Vianney

Transcription

1 Parish of St John Vianney (INCORPORATING THE FORMER PARISHES OF ST ANDREW HOLY FAMILY AND ST MARK) Parish Priest: Fr. Vincent McShane Private The Presbytery & Parish Office: Penmann Crescent Halewood Liverpool L26 0UG Office hours Monday, Tuesday 9.00 am 1.00 pm, Thursday 3.00 pm 5.00 pm and Friday 9.00am 3.00pm Parish Lay Funeral Minister: Mrs Carole Clancy Tel: Parish Mobile (Carole): Lord God, you are attentive to the voice of our pleading. Let us find in your Son comfort in our sadness, certainty in our doubt, and courage to live through this hour. Make our faith strong through Christ our Lord. Amen. Planning a Catholic Funeral

2 Notes for bereaved families The Catholic community joins you in grieving for your loved one and offers you a range of ways to give thanks to God for their life, to ask for the forgiveness of their sins and to affirm our hope in the resurrection. The Department for works and pensions has a leaflet entitled: What to do after someone dies. You can go online at or collect a copy from your local one stop shop. When someone close to you dies, there are many decisions and arrangements you ll have to make, often at a time of personal distress. This government leaflet gives you help and guidance about what to do when someone dies. For example, it tells you how to: Get a medical certificate which shows the cause of death and register the death Arrange the funeral, and decide what to do with the person s property and belongings. It also tells you about the financial help you may be able to get and lists organisations who can give you support and comfort. There is other useful information but the following is not from that leaflet but from information provided by the Bishops Conference of England and Wales; the Liverpool Archdiocese and our own parish. It is best if the immediate family can gather together to decide what needs to be done and who is going to do it. You will need to decide on a Funeral Director who will then advise you on all you need to do. He will make the initial contact with the parish and confirm the date, time and place of the Funeral. This Funeral Pack is designed to help you make a start in planning the actual Funeral Mass or Service. The priest, or his representative, {a Deacon of a specially trained Lay Minister} will deliver this funeral pack to the next of kin as soon as possible so that you and your family will be able to look through it and spend some time making decisions. Someone from the parish will contact you, after a day or two, to meet up with you and finalise the details. Therefore, do not worry if you are not too sure about hymns, readings etc. This will all be finalised when you meet the priest or Deacon, Lay Funeral Minister 2

3 Just as there are stages in the process of grieving, the Church encourages us to bid farewell to our loved ones in three main stages: The Prayer Vigil, The Funeral itself The Committal Service and Committal (Optional) The evening before the funeral. This may be a Mass or a Funeral Service. A Service does not have to be at a church. at the cemetery or crematorium. at the cemetery or crematorium. However all these rites are not appropriate in every situation and the parish looking after the funeral will be happy to help you decide on what is best for you and to choose appropriate readings, prayers and music. As much as we are here to help you at this time; please keep in mind that we provide a religious Christian/Catholic Service/Mass. The Prayer Vigil The Vigil may be held in the home of the deceased person, in a local funeral home or in the church and may be led by a Lay Funeral Minister. The mood of the Vigil is one of quiet support, with readings from scripture and prayers. It may include the Rosary and appropriate poems and songs. The Funeral This is the Christian community s main celebration and prayer for the deceased person. This could be a Funeral Mass, but if the majority of the mourners would not be able to participate fully in a Mass, or if no Priest is available, it may be a Funeral Service led by a Lay Funeral Minister or a Deacon. It cannot be guaranteed that all the deceased s wishes will be fulfilled, even where a pre-paid funeral plan has been arranged. The family and friends of the deceased can be involved, if they feel able, in a variety of ways: Placing on the coffin symbols of Christian faith. Placing other symbols of the person s life on a table near the coffin. Reading the scripture passages or the intercessions. Speaking briefly in memory of the deceased person. Bringing up the gifts of bread and wine (if it is a Mass). The Funeral usually takes place in the parish church but, if it is not a Mass, it may sometimes be appropriate to hold it in the chapel of the cemetery or crematorium immediately before the Committal. The Committal The final act of saying farewell is a brief service at the graveside or at the crematorium and this may be led by a Deacon, Parish Sister or a Lay Funeral Minister. There is an opportunity to use secular music at this point. When a body is cremated there may be a further brief service for the burial of the ashes some time later. If you require a parish representative to be present please contact us. 3

4 Religious Music {GREEN SHEET} There is a sheet within this pack with a list of the first lines of hymns. This is not exhaustive The use of music in the various stages of the funeral is important, and carefully selected religious hymns and music will enhance the service, bring back memories of a loved one and provide consolation for the bereaved. It should be borne in mind that the Catholic Church has a vast library of music to suit all needs. Some music (or words) which would not be appropriate for use in church may be better suited to the crematorium or the cemetery. Your local parish will be pleased to give advice and guidance. Hymns help to express our Christian hope, provide consolation for those who mourn, and help to point us to the Paschal Mystery of Christ s saving death and resurrection. They should, if possible therefore, be part of each of the three major ritual moments: the wake, the funeral Mass, and the committal service. Secular Music Music or songs that are not liturgical or are otherwise inappropriate for the funeral Mass can be included at various times outside the prayers at church, for example, at the home the evening before; after the committal service at the cemetery/crematorium; at the home of the deceased as you are about to depart for the funeral or at the reception following the funeral. Readings {BLUE SHEETS} The Liturgy of the Word takes place at both a Funeral Service and a Funeral Mass. The readings are to be from the Scriptures. You will find a separate set of sheets with a choice of readings. Please note that the Readings are printed ion individual sheets. This is so you can take out the reading/s you want to use and give to the person who is doing the reading. Please point out to them that they need to have this with them, to read from, on the day of the Funeral. Please return the rest of the readings to the priest/minister. Should you have a special non-religious reading or poem this can be used at the end of the Service/Mass or at the place of committal. Intercessions/Bidding Prayers {YELLOW SHEET} The Intercessions/Bidding Prayers take place after the Sermon. They may be read by one person or by a number of people. Please choose four or five of the following examples. Families may wish to adapt them or write their own. They can be personalised by adding "a loving husband", "a special nana" etc. so please feel free to do so. We always end with the Hail Mary. 4

5 Order of Service {Small PURPLE sheet} Some families like to have a sheet or booklet printed. This is not strictly necessary. However, if you choose to have one, please do not send it to the printers without having it checked with the person leading the funeral Mass/Service. (It will save time if you are able to do this by ) Unfortunately, we are not able to print Funeral booklets at the parish office due to the number of funerals each year. Your Funeral Director will have contact details for local printers. The more pages and colour images you have the costlier it will be. The sheet that you are asked to fill-in for the person leading the funeral mass/service contains within it a blue-print for you to follow. There are enough hymn books for a full church, so you not need to print all the words. The first line and the number will be enough. If you print all the words you need to be aware of copyright laws. The same applies to the readings. You will need to have copies of the leaflet/booklet at the church in time for people arriving at church before you. You also need to remember to keep back some for those travelling with you to the church. Guidelines for a eulogy {Please use the small WHITE sheet} It is not easy to sum up someone s life in words. Thankfully, the Lord knows what is in our own hearts and in the heart of the deceased person. The priest/deacon or lay minister has been trained to bring together the Word of God and the memory of the deceased person. A eulogy can be included in the priest s homily, following the Liturgy of the Word, or it may be given by a relative or friend at the beginning or the end of the Service/Mass. A person giving a eulogy should keep in mind that they are taking part in a religious Service. A eulogy should last no longer than five - seven minutes. A eulogy is in memory of the deceased person and is not a performance it is not intended to be something to make those in church laugh for the sake of laughing that does not mean that the person giving the eulogy cannot mention one or two funny instances. If a friend or family member is to give the eulogy, do not ill in the details on the enclosed Eulogy form. If you do, the priest, deacon or lay minister will use them in their homily. If there is no family or friend giving the eulogy, ill in as much as you can, but don t worry about missing details, as this is only a guide for you. Things can be added when the person conducting the funeral meets with you. Flowers These days, especially when cremation takes place, a lot of families ask for donations in memory of the deceased person for a particular charity, instead of flowers. You need to decide this early on so that people are aware. The Funeral Director or parish will be able to arrange this for you. If the parish is aware beforehand, a retiring collection can be made. However, we must have a charity number for the chosen charity. The parish will accept flowers after a Funeral, but not in Advent or Lent. 5

6 Death Notices The Funeral Director will be able to provide you with information about these and about the Liverpool Echo Light a Candle web page. Funeral Reception Your Funeral Director will have contact details of local venues that provide food and drink for a funeral reception. Within our parish there is St Mark s Club. There is no charge for the use of the Club, but we do ask that you do not bring in your own drink. For availability, contact Emma Harvey on She is usually available from 2.00pm onwards on weekdays and from 12.00noon on weekends. The Club does not do catering, but Emma will provide contacts and families are also welcome to do their own catering. Emma will be happy to play any music you give her to play as background music. Church fees These are set nationally and will cover all aspects of the parish s involved in your bereavement. This is usually arranged and paid on your behalf by the Funeral Director and included in your final bill. Whether or not you choose a Funeral Mass for your deceased relative, Mass will be offered for the repose of their soul. This Mass offering is included in the fee. Families may wish to have extra Masses offered for the repose of the soul of a deceased relative on the anniversary of their death or other significant dates. Please contact the Parish Office for details. There is a fee for the organist as they are often from outside the parish. Again, this will be done on your behalf by the Funeral Director and included in your bill. Confessions If you have been away from church for some time and wish to receive Holy Communion at the Funeral Mass it would be good for you to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession). This is available before or after the weekend Masses, which are 5.15pm Saturday evening and 11.00am Sunday morning at Holy Family church, Mackets Lane and 9.15am Sunday morning at St Mark s church, Leathers Lane or by appointment with the priest (ring the Parish Office). Praying for the dead There is a folded-over leaflet within this pack with some prayers for the departed. Extra copies are available from the parish office or either church. If you are bringing the body of your relative home you may wish to leave this sheet near the coffin for people to use. 6

7 Bereavement Each person deals with the grief and bereavement which follows the death of a loved one in their own way. Following your bereavement, we can arrange for someone from the Parish or Pastoral Area to meet with you, should you wish to talk to someone in confidence, or attend a Bereavement Group Meeting. There are some contact details for groups below. If in doubt contact the Parish Office. LISTENING EAR An ecumenical organisation based at the St Nicholas Centre in Halewood. They provide a free and confidential listening and counselling service for over 18 s. They also help 6 17yr olds - but there is a waiting list Tel: enquires@listening.ear.co.uk CRUSE To enable anyone bereaved by death to understand their grief and cope with their loss Daytime helpline: helpline@cruse.org.uk GRIEF NET An Internet community of persons dealing with grief, death, and major loss LIVERPOOL BEREAVEMENT SERVICE Tel: liverpoolbereavement@tiscali.co.uk ALDER CENTRE For those affected by the death of a child Child Death Helpline: Local: (Daytime) SANDS For those who experience Stillbirth Tel: Local: helpline@uk-sands.org SURVIVORS OF BEREAVEMENT BY SUICIDE Helpline: SUPPORT AFTER MURDER AND MANSLAUGHTER Helpline: samm.national@gmail.com Local: (24 hours) 7

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