A funeral marks the end of a human life on earth. Friends and family come together to express their grief, to give thanks for the person's earthly life and commend them into God's keeping.

It can be a small, quiet ceremony or a large occasion in a packed church. The service can take place in a church or a crematorium chapel, and the Church offers services in modern or traditional language.

Planning the funeral service

Some people find planning the funeral with friends and family helps in their grieving. Perhaps you already know something of what the deceased person wanted. You might even have planned the service together some time ago. If you are uncertain, your parish priest (or the minister who'll lead this funeral service) can help you choose suitable readings, hymns and prayers.

If the minister did not know your loved one well, they will want to talk with you to build up a picture of the person's life.

Some deaths are especially sensitive, distressing or unexpected. The Church has special funerals for children, or after sudden or violent deaths, including suicide. Talk with your minister about what is possible.

What happens in the funeral service?

The funeral service has a clear plan. The focus moves from earth to heaven as the service moves from greeting the mourners, to remembering the one who has died, asking  for God's comfort and then committing the dead person into God's care.

Entry of the coffin Traditionally, the minister meets the coffin at the door and leads in the coffin and mourners. The minister says some reassuring words from the Bible. For example: 'I am the resurrection and the life,' says the Lord.

'I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

'Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.'

Welcome and introduction Afrer the welcome and first prayer, there may be a hymn or a tribute to the person who has died. Family and friends may speak the tribute, or the minister can do it. Sometimes symbols of the person's life are placed on or near the coffin as part of this.

Sometimes there's a prayer for forgiveness. It's common to feel we have let someone down after they die, that there were things we could have done or should not have done. The prayer for forgiveness can help.

Readings and sermon A Psalm comes next. 'The Lord is my shepherd' is comforting because it speaks of God being with us in death and grief. The Bible readings focus on God's care and the hope of eternal life. The sermon speaks of the Christian hope of life beyond death and relates it to this particular person.

Prayers The funeral prayers recall the promise of the resurrection. They ask for God's presence with those who mourn and give thanks for the dead person's life. The prayers normally end with the Lord's Prayer.

Commendation, Farewell and Committal The minister says a prayer to commend the person to God's love and mercy. Then the body is 'committed' for burial or cremation.

We now commit his/her body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust: in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

The committal prayer might be said in church, or at the graveside, or in a crematorium as the curtains close around the coffin. It is often a very emotional time, a clear 'Goodbye' to the dead person for this life.

The Burial In Christian tradition the funeral ends with a burial, of a body or ashes. If the body is cremated, you may bury the ashes in the churchyard, or use the crematorium's Garden of Remembrance. The ashes may be buried a few days after the funeral with a very brief service.