Principles for the conducting of funeral services in the church
It is the right of all church members and regular attendees for their funeral services to be conducted in the church. In other cases, it will be left to the discretion of the minister or in times of interregnum to the decision of the church officers.
All services shall be conducted by the minister, or in absence of such, by a minister that has regularly preached in the church, or such that is in sympathy with and respects the articles and forms of worship held by the church. This includes the use of the Authorized Version of the Scriptures in all services, and hymns chosen from Gadsby’s Selection or The Christian Worship Hymn Book.
Funerals are both solemn and joyful occasions, sad in the loss of a loved one, and the fact that death has come upon mankind as consequence of sin. Joyful in the sense that a loved one, who is a believer, has entered heaven, and the fact that Christ has triumphed gloriously over sin, death and the grave. It is again the responsibility of the minister or (as above) church officers to maintain this balance.
The restraints and blessing of reverent worship should be observed at all times. Whilst acknowledging the virtues of life that is passed, we should at all times have before us the fact that, the true object of worship is God.
In short, the church seeks to observe and follow the pattern generally regarded as the traditional form of wedding and funeral services.
The church would prefer any eulogy to be read out by the presiding minister or at the discretion of the Church leaders.
Also there should be no secular music or instruments played at any point during the entire service.
In addition, due to the limitations of the church building, we are not able to host any food catering, therefore, a separate venue will need to be arranged for this.
However, if the family wishes, the back room may be used for tea, coffee, and biscuits. Please note that this would be carried out independently of the church, and the space must be returned to the condition in which it was found.