Please note we now meet in the Chaplaincy of University of Bath (not Mount Haviland).
Our last meeting titled “We
need to talk about funerals” was led by Jane Howarth. Jane had prepared us well with material based
on the workshop she convened at the last SoF Conference.
We
had very diverse experiences and expectations: “good” funerals reflecting the
life of the deceased; “difficult” funerals – for someone who had died by
suicide; and inappropriate funerals –neither reflecting the deceased’s beliefs nor bringing much
comfort to the bereaved.
There
are big questions about what forms an appropriate ceremony. What when the
deceased had an evangelical faith which the bereaved do not share? And what of the other way round? Would a
ceremony reflecting the deceased’s faith be hypocritical for the bereaved?
Should the ceremony be framed so as to give meaningful emotional support to the
bereaved or do they need to feel they are doing what the deceased wanted?
A
valuable discussion on a difficult subject but one which many found helpful. At
the very least we should leave some guidance about our wishes for our next of
kin while leaving them free to bring comfort to the living as they see
necessary.
Our next meeting will be on
Sunday 8th March 2015 at 2.30 pm in
the Chaplaincy of Bath University – when Vernon will recount a talk on “The
Bible and Science” due to be given to
Swindon Philosophical Society a month earlier.
We also plan to meet on
Sunday 10th May at the same time and place.
