Extracts from A Prayer Book for Australia
Additional Prayers and Notes
Thanksgiving for the victory of Christ
1 God of all grace,
you sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
to bring life and immortality to light.
His cross declares your love to be without limit;
his resurrection declares that death, our last enemy, is overthrown.
By his death he destroyed the power of death;
by his glorious resurrection he opened the kingdom of heaven
to all believers.
His victory assures us of the promise
that you will never leave us or forsake us;
that neither death nor life,
nor things present nor things to come,
can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
2 God of all that lives and dies,
you sent Jesus to share our earthly life.
Christ facing death on the cross gives us courage;
Christ rising from the dead brings us hope.
Because Jesus lives, nothing can separate us from your love,
which unites us now with those we mourn.
The dawn breaks and gives us light for the new day.
Help us to share his victory,
and give us the hope to look forward again. Amen.
3 Let us turn to Christ Jesus with confidence and faith
in the power of his cross and resurrection:
Risen Lord, pattern of our life for ever:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Promise and image of what we shall be:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Son of God who came to destroy sin and death:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Word of God who delivered us from the fear of death:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Crucified Lord, forsaken in death, raised in glory:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Lord of glory, returning to judge us all:
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Prayers of thanksgiving and commemoration
4 All-merciful Father,
we give thanks for the witness of your faithful people in every generation.
Especially we give thanks for all by which N is remembered:
for all that s/he was to those who loved her/him;
and for everything in her/his life that reflected your mercy and love.
We thank you that for her/him sickness and sorrow are no more
and that s/he is at rest with you.
And we pray for ourselves that,
throwing off the sin which clings to us so easily,
we may run with resolution the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith;
so that, at the last we may come, with all whom we have loved,
to that abiding city where you reign,
in which there is no death, no mourning and no sadness,
for these will be no more,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
5 God our Father,
we thank you that you have made each of us in your own image,
and given us gifts and talents with which to serve you.
We thank you for N,
the years we shared with him/her,
the good we saw in him/her.
Now give us strength and courage to leave him/her in your care,
confident in your promise of eternal life,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
6 God of grace and glory
we remember those who have gone before us,
who have stood by us and helped us,
who have cheered us by their sympathy
and strengthened us by their example;
help us so to live, that in dying,
we may rejoice with them in the promise of a glorious resurrection;
through your Son our Redeemer. Amen.
7 We give thanks to you, O Lord our God,
for all your servants and witnesses of times past:
for Abraham the father of believers and Sarah his wife;
for Moses the lawgiver, and Aaron the priest;
for Miriam and Joshua, Deborah and Gideon,
and Samuel with Hannah his mother;
for Isaiah and all the prophets;
for Mary, the mother of the Lord;
for Peter and Paul and all the apostles;
for Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene;
for Stephen the first martyr,
for…
and all the martyrs and saints in every age and in every land.
In your mercy, O Lord our God,
give us, as you gave them, the hope of salvation
and the promise of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
the first-born of many from the dead. Amen.
Prayers for those who mourn
8 God our Comforter,
you are a refuge and a strength for us,
a helper close at hand in times of distress.
Help us so to hear the words of faith that our fear is dispelled,
our loneliness eased and our hope reawakened.
May your Holy Spirit lift us above our natural sorrow,
to the peace and light of your constant love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
9 God of all consolation,
open our hearts to your word,
so that, listening to it, we may comfort one another,
finding light in time of darkness and faith in time of doubt;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
10 Grant, Lord, that as we have been baptised
into the death of your dear Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
so, by continually putting to death our sinful desires,
we may die to sin and be buried with him,
and that through the grave and gate of death
we may pass to joyful resurrection;
for his sake who died and was buried and rose again for us,
your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Particular situations
For a married person
11 Eternal God,
you made the union of man and woman
a sign of the bond between Christ and the Church.
We thank you for N,
who was united in love with her husband/his wife.
May the care and devotion of her/his life on earth
find its fulfilment in her/his heavenly reward.
Look kindly on her husband/his wife and family/children
as now they turn to your compassion and love.
Strengthen their faith and lighten their loss.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
After release from suffering
12 We thank you, loving Father,
for taking N from sickness into health,
and from suffering into joy.
Grant that those whom he/she has left may be strengthened
by your continuing presence,
and share with him/her your gift of eternal life. Amen.
Suitable for a child who dies before being baptised
13 God of all consolation,
searcher of mind and heart,
the faith of these parents (N and N) is known to you.
Comfort them with the knowledge
that the child for whom they grieve
is entrusted now to your loving care.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
After a sudden death
14 Jesus our Saviour,
comfort us with the great power of your love
as we mourn the sudden death of N.
Give us a patient faith in this time of darkness,
and help us to understand and know your ways.
Strengthen us in our faith that s/he is with you for ever. Amen.
After a suicide
15 Compassionate God,
we entrust into your care N,
who has died by his/her own hand.
Grant that the knowledge of your love and mercy
may comfort those who grieve for him/her.
Strengthen our assurance of your redeeming purpose
for all your children, through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.
16 Lord Jesus Christ,
you knew the agony of dying alone and abandoned.
We cannot know the agony which led N to take her/his own life.
We grieve that we could not meet her/his needs.
Console us in the face of death’s seeming triumph,
forgive us for failing N in her/his time of need,
and give us the assurance that you can bring hope in our
pain. Amen.
Prayers of struggle
17 Lord Jesus,
we wait for you to grant us your comfort and peace.
We confess that we are slow to accept death
as an inevitable part of life.
We confess our reluctance to surrender N, our friend and loved one,
into your eternal care.
You, Lord Jesus, know the depth of our sorrow;
you also wept at the grave of your friend Lazarus.
Let the Holy Spirit come upon us now,
the Comforter you promise.
Grant us your love and peace as we reach out to comfort
one another.
Be our companion as we live through the days ahead;
and even as we mourn, may all that we feel, think, say and do
bear witness to our faith in Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
18 God of mercy,
as we mourn the death of N and thank you for his/her life,
we also remember times when it was hard for us to understand,
to forgive, and to be forgiven.
Heal our memories of hurt and failure,
and bring us to forgiveness and life. Amen.
19 Merciful Father, our Maker and Redeemer,
we confess that we have not always lived as your grateful children;
we have not loved as Christ loved us.
Father, forgive us for the times when we failed N.
Enable us by your grace to forgive anything that was hurtful to us.
Have mercy on us, Lord;
set us free from our sins, and grant us healing and wholeness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
20 Support us, O Lord, all the day long of this troublous life,
until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,
the busy world is hushed,
the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then, Lord, in your mercy grant us a safe lodging,
a holy rest, and peace at the last;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
21 The Lord Jesus is the lover of his people and our only sure hope.
Let us ask him to deepen our faith and sustain us in this dark hour.
You became a little child for our sake, sharing our human life.
To you we pray:
Bless us and keep us, O Lord.
You grew in wisdom, age, and grace,
and learned obedience through suffering.
To you we pray:
Bless us and keep us, O Lord.
You welcomed children, promising them your kingdom.
To you we pray:
Bless us and keep us, O Lord.
You comforted those who mourned the loss of children and friends.
To you we pray:
Bless us and keep us, O Lord.
You took upon yourself the suffering and death of us all.
To you we pray:
Bless us and keep us, O Lord.
You promised to raise up those who believe in you,
just as you were raised up in glory by the Father.
To you we pray:
Bless us and keep us, O Lord.
Lord God, you entrusted N to our care
and now you embrace her/him in your love.
Comfort us, your sorrowing servants,
who seek to do your will and to know your saving peace. Amen.
1 Preparation and participation. Family and friends may participate in many ways. They may act as pall-bearers, place memorabilia on the coffin, give the eulogy or contribute to it, read prayers, cast earth or flowers into the grave. They may request hymns, particular readings or prayers: such choices should be encouraged, provided they are not inconsistent with Christian truth. It is important to sense when the traditional form of the Lord’s Prayer is appropriate.
2 Placing of Christian symbols. The words used with the placing of Christian symbols may be used at any appropriate point in the funeral service. Any symbols placed on or near the coffin must be consistent with Christian faith.
3 Officiant. In the absence of a priest, these services (with the exception of the Holy Communion) may be conducted by a deacon or authorised lay person.
4 Remembrance (¶ 9). It may be helpful for the eulogy to be given by a friend or family member.
5 The Sermon should contain at least some of the following:
(a) proclamation of the Christian hope—Christ crucified and risen;
(b) acknowledgment of the reality of suffering, and that God in Christ has embraced it;
(c) sensitive concern for the bereaved;
(d) thanksgiving to God for the life of the deceased; and
(e) some reminder of our own coming death and judgment.
6 The Committal. Where the committal takes place during the service, those present should be encouraged to accompany the body to the hearse.
7 Funerals at the Crematorium. The following suggestions are made:
(a) Before the service begins the coffin may be placed at the front of the crematorium chapel, in view of mourners as they move in.
(b) The coffin may be carried to the catafalque as the initial act in the service, with family or friends acting as pall-bearers, or accompanying it in this short ‘journey’.
(c) The minister may need to expand the introduction of the service, to affirm the need and permissibility of expressing grief.
(d) Inappropriate background music should be avoided.
8 Funerals at home. In this setting the deceased is surrounded by the symbols of his or her life. For the bereaved there is opportunity for family support and participation, though care needs to be taken that the service not become merely a private religious rite. It is recommended that the committal in this case be made at the burial or interment, to encourage mourners to journey away from the home with their friend.
9 Interment of Ashes. Disposal of a body by burial carries directly the symbolic meaning of our mortal remains returning to the earth to await God’s action of resurrection. The act of cremation, however, is symbolically incomplete without interment.
Where possible, arrangements for the interment should be considered prior to the cremation. Members of the family or other mourners may be invited to assist with interring the ashes in their final resting place.
10 Memorial services. These forms of funeral service may be used for a Memorial service, the Committal being omitted.
11 Lord’s Prayer. At any time it is used, the form printed on page xi may be used instead of the translation printed here.
Notes to a Funeral Service for a Child
1 The notes provided for A Funeral Service apply to this service.
2 Those present should not be discouraged from expressing feelings: the death of a child is always the death of hopes and dreams. Times for silent reflection are significant in this, as is the choice of music and the use of symbols.
3 Flexibility is essential for a service such as this, particularly where there are significant numbers of children present. Where the service and the committal take place separately the minister should use discretion in the way the sentences and prayers are arranged.
4 The sermon may be placed at the beginning, to set the scene for what all are about to do together, or preached as part of the Ministry of the Word.
5 This service may include the Holy Communion as set out in A Funeral Service (page 725).