In Sure and Certain Hope: Liturgies, Prayers and Readings for Funerals and Memorials - Softcover

Abingdon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0687054036 ISBN 13: 9780687054039

Publisher: Abingdon Press, 2005

Synopsis

This book is offered as a resource for those taking services connected with death and dying, those who offer pastoral care to the bereaved, and all who are asked to help plan a funeral or memorial service.  It may be used in its own right or as a supplement to the authorized liturgies of the various Christian churches.
In Sure and Certain Hope provides a range of liturgies, from simple rites to formal orders of service for use in church, for each stage of a process that is both universal and unique for every individual:
- a simple rite at the time of death
- a ceremony for receiving a body into church
- prayers and readings before leaving home for a funeral
- an order of service for a funeral in church
- an order of service for a funeral at a cemetery or crematorium
- alternative Bible readings, printed out in full
- alternative prayers and readings for differing circumstances of death
- prayers for returning home after a funeral
- a memorial service
- a commemoration for All Soul's Day
- a remembrance for the anniversary of a death
- an affirmation of the living
In Sure and Certain Hope also includes a short selection of readings from literature and poetry on the themes of death, loss and enduring love.  They are chosen for their resonance with the Christian hope of eternal life and may help family and friends to find a reading appropriate for their own circumstances.  For clergy and others who minister at such an intensely painful time, theological reflection is included on the primary Christian understanding that underpins the Church's ministry to the dying and the bereaved.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr Paul Sheppy is a member of the Churches' Funeral Group which produced the Funeral Services Book; and also of the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain. A Baptist Minister, he is based in Reading. He is the author of Each Day, Each Night and the editor of An Order of Marriage.

Review:

'In Sure and Certain Hope shows Paul P.J.Sheppy as a minister with a real understanding of the needs of the vereaved. (...) His comment on the importance of preaching at funerals shows where his heart is: 'If we do not offer Christ's answer to the questioner, in what sense has the funeral been a Christian one?' -- Trevor Lloyd * Praxis News of Worship *

About this edition

• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0687054036
• ISBN 13: 9780687054039
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112