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Getting the Type of
Service Right It is possible to have ashes interred in the Calvary Garden (left). This is done either within the context of our Sunday Worship or by private arrangement. For details about funerals please speak to the Vicar: 020 8653 0378. |
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'Funeral Blues'
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
-- W.H. Auden
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In this poem, Auden is experiencing Good Friday. His partner has died and he feels there is nothing left for him to live for. This is so expressive of how we may be feeling, when we lose a loved one. Undoubtedly, this is how Mary Magdalene would have felt, when she visited the grave of Jesus, only to find he wasn’t there. The disciples had to journey, mentally and spiritually from the dark place of the Cross, to the light and life of resurrection. It was in the knowledge of the resurrection, that their whole worldview and their perception of things visible and invisible, mortal and immortal, changes. Auden, like us, must make that journey, too, from what has become our dark place of the Cross, to the ‘empty tomb’ and the light of the resurrection. For it is only in the light of the resurrection, that the wounds of loss, emptiness, fear and despair are transfigured. Darkness is overcome by light, despair is turned to hope and fear is overwhelmed by love. |
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How do we journey
from the Cross to the Resurrection? Ask him for the strength to face each new day. Ask him to be with you throughout the day. Keep your Bible close to you, because you will find that Jesus will speak to you through its words and it will be a comfort to you. Wherever the Eucharist is celebrated, the heavenly church and the earthly church gather around the altar and their Lord who gives himself for the life of the world. This can be a powerful time of coming close to your loved one. So come to the Eucharist and journey to altar and receive the holy bread and wine. When you are in the church, you may like to light a candle as a mark of your love and your prayer for your loved one. For us who are left, the light of resurrection dawns in us, when by God’s love, we catch a glimpse beyond the veil into the world of eternity. |
Memorial Book
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Someone
Who Will Listen … If you are experiencing loss of a loved one and you would like someone you can talk to about it, we have some great people at St John’s who would be pleased to come alongside you at this time. In the first instance, please speak to the vicar. |
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