A TIME TO RENEW FUNERAL MINISTRY TEAMS

In response to requests from parishes about the training of people to lead prayer specifically at the cemetery and the crematorium, the Office of Mission and Ministry has prepared the outline of such a course. See attached.

There will be four monthly sessions to the training with practical ‘homework’ in between. These will take place on Wednesday evenings: 14 Sept, 12 Oct, 9 Nov and 7 Dec 2022. Specific time and locations later.

The initiative envisages that the Funeral Leader will be visibly present for the Funeral Mass/Service and participate in the Final Commendation Ritual.

Then they will be publicly delegated by the priest to lead the prayers at the cemetery or crematorium on behalf of the parish.

If this project would fit your parish training needs, please look through the selection criteria and prayerfully discern those who would suit this role in your community.

For further information or simply a chat about it this please email [email protected] or pat.odonoghue@dublindiocese.

We will continue to work with Funeral Teams in the autumn as usual and those gathering dates will be sent out shortly so that you mark your autumn calendars.

A TIME TO RENEW FUNERAL MINISTRY TEAMS

The celebration of funerals in our churches during Covid lockdowns was affected in many ways. Restricted numbers, social distancing and the uncertainty about the various public health recommendations took their toll on the quality of our celebrations, who could be present and inevitably the participation of Funeral Teams.

It is time to look now at refreshing our Funeral Ministry Teams. As more people work from home, with flexibility, it could be possible to engage some of them in this ministry of service and compassion. Other people have taken early retirement and might be happy to be invited to contribute to parish life in a new way.

We will offer training for new members of funeral ministry teams in the coming months so start recruiting. Venues will be announced nearer the dates with hybrid possibilities (face to face and zoom) and the way to book places.

Save the Dates: ‘New Funeral Team Members’ Training Dates: 28 Sept, 19 Oct and 23 Nov 2022

This programme is only for new members and is a continuation of our formation work over the years. This is not to be confused with the above initiative on the training of Parish Funeral Leaders.

For further information please email [email protected] or pat.odonoghue@dublindiocese. Document attached