A funeral marks the end of a human life on earth and there is a sense in which a funeral service is the end of a journey. However, the Church points to the journey that continues to be made as a person draws ever closer to God even after the end of their physical journey. It is the time for friends and family to express their grief, to give thanks for the life of the person who has died, to celebrate their life and to commend the person into God's keeping. Funerals and Interment of Ashes in St James's churchyard are arranged as required.
Funeral services today are much more tailored to being personal for those who are bereaved than once was so and this is expressed in tributes, music, and so on. The services usually include a time when friends and relatives can talk about the person who died, remembering happy times and the good things that they did. In the past it was the fashion to write these thoughts down on the memorial stone of the grave.
In most funeral services the minister will say, "We commit this body to the ground/to be cremated, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust". In this way, people are reminded that we are all human and made by God.
After the funeral service there will be either a burial or a cremation. In a burial the coffin is buried underground and a memorial stone can be placed at the head of the grave. However, St James's graveyard is full so there are no more burials here. More usually after the funeral service a cremation takes place. Cremation is when the body is burned at the crematorium and the ashes are then returned to the family to be scattered in a favourite place, or placed in the Garden of Rest (sometimes called the Garden of Remembrance) at St James's or the crematorium, so that people have a place to visit and remember their loved one.
If it is desired, the Church can accompany someone through a terminal illness to the time of death and then on and through the funeral seeking to be supportive to the bereaved in the future. Any accompanying of people along this journey involves both the proper acknowledgement of the intensity of loss in this world yet also pointing to what is to come. We move from the human to the divine, from earth to heaven. We remember a specific life in the setting of a wider belief about the purpose of life and belief in God.
As well as post-funeral support, all bereaved families are invited to an annual All Souls’ remembrance service, In Loving Memory.
Remembering those who have died
St James’s Church has a number of ways in which we enable families to remember loved ones who have died. For clarity and fairness these are set out below.
1. All those who have had a funeral taken by a member of the St James’s clergy and/or had a funeral in the church are recorded in the Spire.
2. The next of kin of the above are contacted and invited to the ‘All Souls’ service in the year following the funeral. They are also invited to have entered the deceased name into the Book of Remembrance, and be added to the names of those who are remembered on Sunday mornings. (This invitation can be extended by the vicar to others who have a strong and recent connection with the parish but whose funeral was conducted elsewhere.) There is a small fee for this.
3.1 We inter cremated remains in the Garden of Rest, in unmarked plots. This is usually done as part of a short service led by the clergy. There is a fee for this. No other part of the churchyard is authorised for the burial of cremated remains.
3.2 All those whose cremated remains are interred in the Garden of Rest are recorded on the church database / website.
4.1 If a family member wishes to donate a tree, bush or other plant they should contact the church office, who will be able to advise on the best choices and spaces. This will not be in the Garden of Rest nor over the interred remains. No planting should take place unless it is authorised by the Church. We can arrange for the planting to be done for the family. Unauthorised plants may be removed. It is not usual for this to be marked by a blessing or any other service, although it might be done as part of the interment of cremated remains.
4.2 If a family member wishes to set a plaque in the ground near the planting, details of the approved style and manufacturer can be obtained from the office. Unauthorised plaques may be removed.
Find out more
Current funeral fees can be found in the document Fees (2026). Just scroll down the document to find the funeral fees.
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