Family Occasions

Funeral & Bereavement Ministry

When experiencing bereavement, many people look to the Church's ministry for comfort and reassurance.

At the Time of a Death

If you would like a priest to visit someone who is dying, or who has just died, please contact one of the clergy directly (see our Contacts page).

The Funeral

Ministers from the churches are privileged to be asked to conduct funeral services for those who live in the parish or have a connection with it. Funeral services may take place in any of the churches of the parish, or at the chosen crematorium or cemetery.

When someone dies it is usual to make the initial funeral arrangements through a local undertaker (funeral director), who will then contact one of the parish ministers. From time to time we are also asked to take Memorial Services — for example, when someone local has died elsewhere and folk have been unable to attend the funeral. In this instance it's usually more convenient for relatives to contact Rev. Peter Liley directly.

Burial

Churchyards. Each of our churches has a churchyard. However, generally there are no facilities for burial of bodies at St Mary Mablethorpe, St Clement Sutton on Sea or St Andrew Anderby, as these churchyards are full (the only exception would be where a burial plot has already been reserved). There are spaces in the churchyards at St Peter Trusthorpe and St Margaret Huttoft. Occasionally we are asked to conduct a burial, after a funeral in one of our parishes, in the churchyard of a neighbouring parish.

Cemeteries. There are two Local Authority cemeteries serving our area: the separate cemetery at Anderby, run by the Parish Council, and the large cemetery at Trusthorpe, run by Mablethorpe, Trusthorpe and Sutton on Sea Town Council, which serves all three. See our Links page for local authority contacts. We are also occasionally asked to conduct a burial at Alford Cemetery or Louth Cemetery, and there is a Green Burial Site called ‘Birdsong’ at Sloothby, about 10 miles from Sutton on Sea (also on our Links page).

Cremation & the Interment of Ashes

Cremation generally takes place at Alford, after a funeral in church or in the crematorium chapel. Following cremation there are a number of options for the ashes: they may be scattered or buried at Alford Crematorium (with a minister from the parish in attendance if required), or interred in a churchyard, usually in the Garden of Remembrance. This may be arranged through the relevant undertaker, or relatives may approach Rev. Peter Liley directly.

After the Funeral

Ministers from the parish are happy to visit following a bereavement, regardless of whether we took the funeral — please see our Contacts page. Each autumn we hold a series of services “for the recently bereaved” in our churches. A list of those whose funerals we have taken over the previous year is read out (other names may be added on request), and there is the opportunity to light a candle in memory of a loved one. Next-of-kin are automatically invited, but the service is open to anyone who has experienced a bereavement.