Funerals

The death of a loved one affects us deeply. At St Michael's, we seek to support you through the process of bereavement. An important stage in this is helping you to arrange a funeral. We can assist with funerals within the parish or outside. We sometimes conduct funerals at the crematoria or cemetery chapels in Southampton. If on the other hand you want the funeral within the parish, the church is available for funerals which are conducted according to the rites of the Church of England.

The practice is that after you have made contact with an undertaker he/she will contact us to sort out a suitable time when one of the clergy is free and (if you want the funeral in St Michael's) that the church is also free.

One of the clergy will meet with the family to talk with you about how you would like to structure the service, such as what music you would like and what readings (there is always a Bible reading). We seek also to accommodate any wishes which you may have for a personal tribute about the deceased or to have a piece of music which they may have loved.

The service usually takes about three quarters of an hour. Committal then takes place either in a cemetery or at a crematorium, conducted by the priest.

It is our hope that after the funeral within the months ahead we continue to offer pastoral support to you in the process of bereavement.

Sometimes if a funeral has been private or takes place far from Southampton, a family or institution might like to hold a memorial service in St Michael's. We are very happy to talk about this also.