What is a Bereavement Friendly Church?
A Bereavement Friendly Church is: A Church/Church group where the effects of bereavement and the journey of grief are understood and alleviated, so that bereaved people in their communities are helped to navigate their difficulties and come to a place of meaning and hope.
Why do we need Bereavement Friendly Churches?
Our culture has been ‘death denying’ for many years. We’ve lost the art of supporting grief and bereaved people can be overlooked, feel isolated, or experience responses that make their situation worse. Where grief is unsupported it can be suppressed or put on hold, with ongoing consequences, such as in relationships, behaviour, attainment, and physical and mental ill-health. Bereavement used to happen naturally in community. We want churches in every community to reach out to support those who have been bereaved around them, to enable the UK’s millions of bereaved people to process their grief healthily and find healing and hope.
Churches are natural places for help as they’re connected through funerals and known for their care. They are also welcomed for their stability in changing circumstances of life and for the opportunities they present for remembrance and ritual, not easily found elsewhere.
Importantly, bereavement is the one time in life when spiritual questions naturally arise - about purpose, God and existence after death. Despite the decline in religious funerals, research has shown that 90% of the public expect churches to help them with grief, and churches running ourThe Bereavement Journey® programme are experiencing this level of interest.
However, although we don’t like to think so, many bereaved people say they find church difficult. There are a number of reasons for this which we explore in our Bereavement Friendly Church webinar (level 1).
What can Churches do?
We ask churches to consider how they might become more accessible and welcoming to people who have been bereaved, and invite them to aim towards the 12 marks of our Charter. Churches that do so are recognised by us as a Bereavement Friendly Church.
The content and resources of this website can also help any church or Christian to be more supportive to those who have been bereaved.