Anyone who lives in the parish of Selby Abbey or who has an association with the Abbey is welcome to have their funeral service (or memorial service) in the Abbey. In addition, the Abbey clergy are available to lead funeral services at the crematorium or cemetery for those who prefer the service to be held there.
The service would follow the pattern of prayers of prayers and bible readings recommended by the Church of England which remind us of the Christian hope of life beyond death in addition to celebrating and giving thanks for the life of the person who has died and praying for those who are bereaved.
There is the opportunity to choose your own prayers or bible readings and also possible to include a variety of hymns, other songs and music, poems and other readings of your choice. The organ can be played for live music (including any hymns) and/or recorded music can be played.
A ‘eulogy’ or ‘tribute’ to the person who has died is usually included in the service. This may be given by a member of the family or a friend or by the minister on their behalf (or by a combination of any of these).
There is normally no restriction on how long the service in the Abbey can take, or how many can attend.
The service can filmed and made available both at the time and afterwards via Youtube (access to the recording would be restricted to those with the direct link so it will not be available to the wider public).
We can produce a printed order of service (including any photographs) or you can do this yourself or arrange one through the funeral director.
Donations can collected in the service at the Abbey for a charity of your choice (these would normally be shared with the Abbey itself).
It is also possible for the person who has died to ‘rest’ in the Abbey on the night before the funeral if requested and there is a short service that accompanies them being ‘received’ into the Abbey.
The minister taking the funeral would normally arrange to meet the ‘next of kin’ and/or those responsible for arranging the funeral beforehand in order to find out about the person who has died and what they would like included in the service.
In most cases, the funeral director makes the first contact with the Abbey to arrange a date and time for the funeral on behalf of the ‘next of kin’ but you may prefer to contact us in the first instance yourself.
If you have any further questions, please contact us