Funerals, Burial and Burial of Ashes
Death and bereavement is always a time of grief and sadness. Often it is difficult to know which way to turn.
Church Service
A church service at either St. Andrew’s, Buckland Monachorum or Church of the Holy Spirit, Milton Combe. This includes hymns and a reading, with time given to remember the one who has died. This is set in the context of Jesus’ teaching about finding peace with God through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’
John 11 vv.25-26.
Perhaps the best known verse in the Bible is this one from John 3 v.16 which begins the service:
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’
Following the service there will either be burial in the cemetery opposite the school, or a visit to one of the two crematoria in Plymouth, at Efford or Weston Mill. At the crematorium there is a short service of committal.
Instead of physically attending the crematorium it is possible to pray a prayer of committal outside the church by the hearse before it leaves for Plymouth, – should this be preferred.
Please email the Vicar
Crematorium Service
Alternatively the whole service can be held at the crematorium, and the local Vicar invited to conduct it.
The time has now been lengthened at the crematorium to 40 minutes. This provides scope for hymns, a remembrance of the deceased, a Scripture reading and short message, also the prayers and committal.
The service finishes with the curtains closing around the coffin, although they can be kept open if this is preferred.
Burial of Ashes
There are two places for the burial of ashes in Buckland. The first is the cemetery, just inside the gates opposite the school. Enquiries are made to the Clerk to the Council (see full contact details below under ‘Cemetery’), and may be channelled through the undertaker. There is a small Garden of Remembrance outside the south door of Buckland Church. This is looked after by the St. Andrew’s Parochial Church Council. It is a tranquil garden, and ashes are buried in the central planted enclosure. There is a Book of Remembrance in the Drake Chapel, and names are recorded there. The service itself is a simple one. The ashes are poured into the earth, and the garden itself is attractively maintained.
Although everything is normally arranged through the undertaker if more information is required please contact the Vicar on our contact page.
Cemetery
The cemetery is not administered by the church but by the Parish Council. All requests for burial plots may be made to the Clerk to the Council, Katherine Griffiths.
Phone number: 01822 855889.
Email: clerk@bmpc.info
Address: 5, Hillside Close, Buckland Monachorum, Devon. PL20 7EQ
Further Information from the Church of England:
There is a dedicated website with lots of information and possibilities here: https://churchofenglandfunerals.org/
Undertakers
There are three undertakers in Tavistock and they will all be helpful in offering practical guidance:
S.J.Backwell Funeral Services (the Co-operative)
32a Brook Street, Tavistock.
01822 612034
email: tavfunerals@psw.coop
Lakeside, Tavistock.
01822 612023
email: simon@morrisbros.co.uk
Walter C. Parsons Funeral Directors
32 West Street, Tavistock.
01822 617300
email: tavistock@wcpltd.com
Scripture for the bereaved
All the funeral services include wonderful verses from Scripture, a time for recollection, and a renewed invitation to consider and place whole-hearted trust in, and dependence upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
‘Eye has not seen, nor ear hear, nor can the heart of man conceive what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by His Holy Spirit.’
1 Corinthians 2 verse 9.
Simon Peter answered him,
‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’
John 6 v.69.
Prayer for the bereaved
Lord Jesus Christ, who wept at the grave of Lazarus, draw near with your tender care and compassion to those whose loss is greatest at this time, because their lives were closest and their love was strongest.
In the midst of their deep sorrow please reveal yourself to them as the sympathetic Saviour of mankind. Bring comfort to them from your deep wells of grace, and your courage to face life again in the days to come, for your name’s sake, Amen.