Hope

The message at all Church of England funerals, wherever they happen, is one of hope. Although there is sadness because someone you know and love has died, in every Church of England funeral there will also be a message of hope in life after death. Read more about that hope.

Christians believe that when we die, God promises that we will be with him in a wonderful place where death and pain are gone forever. Whatever the circumstances of death, these words of hope are a great comfort to those who attend a funeral.

When someone dies, although we can’t see the person we love anymore, Christians believe that through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will see that person again. It might be in a very different form, in a very different way, but that is the Christian hope, and that is the message everyone will hear when they come to a Church of England funeral.

“Hope is not just for the person who has died, it’s for the people who remain behind. It gives us something to hold on to. We are surrounded by creation with signs of things that die and come back to life, and that’s a wonderful metaphor of hope.”

The Rev Juliet Stephenson


Source URL: https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/funerals/here-everyone/hope