Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.’
St Peter’s is available to the wider community for funerals. The Vicar is available to take the funerals of those who wish to have a Christian funeral.
In general a funeral service at St Peter’s will follow the format laid out in ‘A New Zealand Prayer Book’. The Vicar and family together will select what is suitable for each individual funeral service.
Christians have always believed that there is hope in death as in life and that there is renewed life in Christ after death. The service reflects this belief.
If you would like to hold a funeral at St Peter’s please call the Vicar, Rev’d Nathan de Senna, on 022 471 6240 to make arrangements for this to happen.
Prayers at the Time of Death / Last Rites
Our Vicar is available to carry out the last rites when desired. Please contact Nathan on 022 471 6240 to make arrangements.
Confirmation
It is the Church’s teaching that baptism cannot be repeated in a person’s life. If there is any doubt that a person has been baptised, then conditional baptism may take place. The services of the ‘liturgy of baptism’ and the ‘laying on of hands for confirmation and renewal’ provide for a process of response to the baptismal action by a profession of faith and commitment to Christian service. Those making a profession of faith are confirmed by the Bishop through the laying on of hands.
The Committal of Ashes
After a cremation, the family may wish to mark the reverent disposal of the ashes in a significant way. The church offers a short service which includes prayers that provide the family with an opportunity to do this.
Bequests
If you consider the Parish to be your spiritual home, you may wish to think about including a bequest to St Peter’s in your will.
A bequest is a gift to the Church which has effect on your death. It is made by including the gift in a new will or adding it to your existing will with a codicil (amendment). If you already have a will, a codicil to create a bequest is a simple, quick thing for your lawyer or the Public Trust to do.
Making a bequest to the Parish is a perfect way of helping the Parish in the years ahead. It could be stated in your will that the bequest is for a specific purpose – such as for some aspect of Ministry or the upkeep of some part of Church property that you particularly treasure, or the bequest could be stated to be for the Parish’s general purposes.
If you would like any information on how to leave a bequest to the Parish, please contact us.