Everyone is entitled to a church service in their local parish church and to have either a burial of a coffin or have their ashes buried in their local parish churchyard (if the churchyard has been closed, then the local authority will provide alternative places of burial and the minister can carry out the service there instead of the church or crematorium).
The service can be taken by their local parish priest regardless of whether they attended church or not. Similarly, anyone can ask for their local vicar to officiate at a funeral at a crematorium or woodland burial site.
The service may include the celebration of your loved one's life, but it is more than that. The heart of the service recognizes that young or old, popular or unpopular - they were made by God, that he loves them and in the service, we entrust that special person into God's safekeeping.
The traditional words of the Church of England funeral service have been used for generations, and because they are so well recognised can bring comfort to family members. If you would like the vicar can help you decide on ways to personalise the service through readings from the bible or poems and music choices.
The fees for a Church of England service are fixed (Usually you won't need to worry about it separately as it will be included in the funeral director's total bill.) There may be extra charges for the organist or for a verger.
There is no fee for the funeral of a child or young person under the age of 16 or for the burial of a stillborn infant.
Speak to your local vicar or funeral director for more information, or please use the A Church Near You search facility to find your local Church of England church.
You can find more information about organising a funeral, choices of service and what you can include on the Church of England funerals website.
Hereford Diocese Funeral Service (Hereford City only)
Research shows that funeral directors expect a quick reply to funeral service requests so that they can confirm the date and the venue of funerals to grieving families as soon as possible. This is where the Diocese of Hereford Funerals comes in.
Whether looking to arrange a funeral in a Church of England church or in a crematorium, our friendly support team will aim to have a date and time agreed within 24 hours and give details of who will be leading the service.
To book a funeral with Diocese of Hereford Funerals call [number tbc]
or email insertname@hereford.anglican.orgIf you would like to know more about Diocese of Hereford Funerals,
please contact Nick Partridge or Elizabeth Wild insertemail@hereford.anglican.org
Funeral Collections
Families often like to ask for a collection to be taken during or after a funeral service for a charity or cause special to their loved one.
Churches are usually happy for this to take place but do discuss it with the vicar before the service as the church may have its own policies concerning collections, which must be observed. By law, the purposes for which money is collected in a Church of England church or churchyard have to be agreed by the vicar and Parochial Church Council (PCC) and accounted for by the PCC before being passed on to the nominated charity.
It may be helpful if a member of your family or a friend can join church officials to count the collection after the service. This family representative can also receive any personal cards and messages left for you in the collection plate. However, we recognise that this may not always be possible, for example, if the whole party must leave the church to go on to a committal service in the crematorium.
Please visit our funeral collections page for more detailed guidance.