funeral services

The service I conducted today was mobbed out with people.

The family had chosen the smaller chapel (which seats maybe 65 or so): but it was way too small! There were loads of people there.

The older son spoke for a bit about his mother who had died. Simply, warmly, with a very obvious gratitude and pride. And with a bit of humour, too.

He'd said the other night when I'd been down and seeing them all - he'd said he wasn't religious at all. As I think I said, a post or two ago.

That always makes it rather hard. I don't ever want to seem somehow to be kind of 'preaching' at a guy who's made it clear just where his ground's staked out.

And yet, I can't renege on my calling as a preacher of the word.

It's not the easiest balance to sustain. But I try. And I think both he - and the rest of the family, too, and, indeed, the bulk of the people there - found it helpful the way I handled it.

And I hope that they gained some sense of the presence of God.

There was another funeral service taking place in the chapel afterwards. Not one that I ws conducting. And I noticed that just as the hearse arrived, a mourner (presumably) stepped into the road and started taking photos of the funeral cortege.

I'm not sure why, I have to confess. But it struck me that funeral services are somehow changing quite a bit.

Certainly the funeral service I was conducting reflected certain changes that are taking place. Two bits of music as the mourners all came in. Instead of the usual one.

The organist wasn't all that chuffed. I mean, he doesn't mind playing the organ. But putting the CDs on? I think he feels he's bit by bit becoming a kind of daytime clubbers' DJ, or something like that.

The thing is becoming a bit of a big event. One final grand performance almost as a sort of one-stop little tribute gig in honour of the person who has died. And a photographic record of it all will go down well.

I don't know.

I find it puzzling and more than a little disturbing. I fear it's in part because our people today are struggling in a mire of spiritual ignorance, confused, perplexed and often as not with a wholly distorted view of what death is and how we should respond.

All the more reason for starting to teach the people here along these lines.