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Funeral in England

post #1 of 4
2/27/10 at 3:54pm
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Dear fellow members,

a very good friend of my family passed away yesterday and I would like to know if anybody can tell me the common English procedure what to do now. We live in Germany and none of us will be able to fly over for the funeral, we're thinking about sending a card or flowers, what is gererally done in Germany, but as we have no idea, maybe an English member or someone who knows about it on here can tell me about it.

Best regards and thank you in advance!
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post #2 of 4
2/27/10 at 9:40pm
Cards and letters generally go to the family home: Letters are preferred. Flowers are often sent to the church via the undertaker or funeral home, so you would probably need to know who is arranging the funeral to do this (a call to the church, or another family friend could be useful). If the deceased was suffering from what obituaries describe as "a long illness", families often request donations to cancer charities in lieu of flowers.
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post #3 of 4
2/28/10 at 6:27pm
When it comes to flowers sent to the church -- assuming it's a church funeral -- if it's held in a Church of England parish ... flowers may be limited to the altar and other specific locations ... often with the arrangement theme/colors coordinated. More often than not sent flowers are kept in the narthex or outside. Moreover, in my experience, families rarely request that flowers be sent home after the funeral ... so they just end up decorating the church offices ... or go home with volunteers.

If you really want to give flowers ... ask the church office if you can donate toward the altar or other church flowers.
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post #4 of 4
2/28/10 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Germanicus View Post
Dear fellow members, a very good friend of my family passed away yesterday and I would like to know if anybody can tell me the common English procedure what to do now. We live in Germany and none of us will be able to fly over for the funeral, we're thinking about sending a card or flowers, what is gererally done in Germany, but as we have no idea, maybe an English member or someone who knows about it on here can tell me about it. Best regards and thank you in advance!
Firstly, let me offer my commiserations. Definitely send a card. Sometimes, the bereaved will ask for a donation to be made to a charity. For example; if the deceased died of cancer the family may ask for donations to Cancer research or the Marie Curie foundation instead of flowers. Ring ahead and ask what their preference would be.
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