The Parish Bereavement Group is a voluntary group from the Parish who are there to help you to make arrangements for the funeral of your loved one and to support you in your loss. They also assist the Priest in celebrating the Funeral Rites, leading prayers in the Church, the Funeral Parlour and the home of the deceased or their family. Additionally the Parish Bereavement Team also, where required and usually when a priest is not available, receive the remains of the deceased into the Church.

When someone dies please notify the Priest as soon as you are able (01236 - 822136), so that the he may have the opportunity to meet with the family of the deceased and begin making arrangements for the funeral. It is imperative that you contact him first rather than the Bereavement Group directly.

When someone dies it is often a time of great sadness, mourning and reflection but as Christians we must also remember to rejoice that the Lord Jesus Christ has won a great victory over death and made it possible for us to pass through to new and eternal life.

This period can also be a busy time when arrangements have to be made and friends and relatives notified. So it is the intention of the Bereavement Group in these few related web pages, to help you with some information which you may find helpful.

Once you have contacted the Priest, the next thing it is advisable to do is to establish a relationship with an Undertaker. There are many sensitive and professional local undertakers who advertise in the press, on the internet and in Yellow Pages. It may be that your family has a particular association with an individual company, the choice of Undertaker is yours and they can guide you through the legal process of registering a death and all the other arrangements you may wish to make.

01236 822158.

0141 776 2242.

0141 332 1154.

01236 424132.

0141 779 1973.

01324 822159.

If you are making arrangements for the funeral of a relative or friend, your funeral director and the Priest can help you choose the appropriate elements to make it a meaningful celebration of trust and hope in Jesus Christ. Organising a Catholic funeral may seem daunting especially if you have never organised one before or indeed if you yourself are not a Catholic. The notes on the following pages will help you.

It is important that you are aware of the different types of Funeral Service that take place in a Catholic Church and the structure of those services - so please see Structure of a Catholic Funeral. Naturally the arrangements will involve you choosing Readings from the Bible and choosing Hymns or Sacred Music for use during the Service, so these pages have been written to help you through a process of choosing appropriate readings or music which reflect the life of the deceased and give meaning to family and friends at this time of mourning.

The Bereavement Group do not routinely undertake Rosary or a Prayer Service in the home - more usually the family themselves will lead these traditional prayers. However the Bereavement Group will be happy to help to lead prayers in the home of the deceased or in the Funeral Parlour if requested to by the family in the days between the death and the funeral taking place. This can be arranged through the Priest or a Bereavement Group member.