A LEADING Kirk minister has said conducting funerals for non-believers is a time-wasting burden on the church and that non-religious services should be provided by the state.
Rev Johnston McKay, BBC Scotland's former editor of religious broadcasting, said ministers were conducting more than 70 funerals a year and at many of them there was "no interest whatsoever" in the Christian faith.
McKay said one funeral he conduc
ted was marred by constant noise from the congregation, one of whom shouted a stream of swear words before rushing behind the curtain with the coffin.
The minister, writing in the Church of Scotland magazine Life and Work, said state-run funerals would be welcomed by many mourners, who feel their presence in church is "at best inappropriate and at worst hypocritical".
McKay, a minister for 40 years and clerk to the Presbytery of Ardrossan, stressed he would not refuse to conduct a funeral service for a non-believer, but his comments drew criticism from fellow clerics who pointed out it was "not for human beings to decide who is worthy of God's grace".
As the recognised national church, the Church of Scotland routinely conducts parish funerals for all, regardless of their religious beliefs.
McKay wrote: "Families ask for a minister because they know of no other way of marking a life that has ended.
"Very often there is no interest whatsoever in what may be said about what Christian faith believes about death and life after death.
"Funerals are, of course, pastoral opportunities, but I question whether the parish minister is always best placed to provide the sort of genuine care which people need.
"Why do we do it? Most of us because there is no choice. But should there not be choice? The state now provides ways for couples to be married without benefit of clergy. Why should the state not provide the means by which funerals can be conducted without benefit of religion also? My suspicion is that it would be welcomed by many who are all too aware of what is at best inappropriate and at worst hypocritical in their appearing to assent to convictions they do not share and a faith they do not believe."
McKay said one of the ministers in his presbytery conducted as many as 129 funerals services in one year, and elsewhere an average of 60 or 70 was common. He said: "There are lots of other churches of different denominations in Ardrossan.
"None of the ministers at these churches is obliged to host a funeral for someone who is not a member of their congregation. I am. Why in the name of Heaven in this ecumenical age should we not all be involved in this?"
He recalled one funeral in particular as an example of the futility of holding a Christian service for those who did not want to hear the word of God.
He said: "There was a constant hubbub of conversation, nobody listened to what I was saying and when we got to the funeral the underlying noise was greater. When I came to the words of committal during a prayer one of the mourners stood up, shouted a stream of expletives and then rushed behind the curtains as they closed the coffin."
He concluded: "Later that day I saw no reason whatsoever, other than my obligation as a minister in the parish, to have been involved with that, or, I have to say, many other funerals I have had to take."
Kirk minister Rev Fiona Mathieson said McKay's views went against the church's guiding tenets. The minister of Edinburgh's Carrick Knowe Church said: "If we take the view that we will not work with some people then are we not going against the articles declaratory?
"They state that it is the church's call and duty to bring the ordinances of religion to the people in every parish of Scotland through a territorial ministry. It is part of the mystery of the Christian faith that it is not for human beings to decide who is worthy of God's grace and who is not."
A Church of Scotland said: "As the national church part of our mission is to serve the whole territory of Scotland and the people within it. Everyone who lives here lives within a particular parish and is entitled to approach their local church in connection with the funeral of their nearest and dearest."
Ron McLaren, the national secretary for the Humanist Society of Scotland, said: "In the past year we have overseen more than 2,000 services in Scotland which is a huge rise from a couple of hundred just a few years ago."
Modern ways of saying goodbyeINCREASING numbers of people are deciding that traditional church funerals are not for them.
The growing demand for alternative send-offs has led one British businesswoman to launch Natural Endings, a company that specialises in unusual funerals.
The Manchester-based firm offers a service that turns ashes into diamonds or blasts them into the heavens inside fireworks.
It also offers environmentally friendly coffins made from bamboo, willow, paper or cardboard. Natural Endings offers bikers the chance to ride to their funeral in a specially converted motorbike and sidecar hearse.
Funeral director Rosie Grant said: "We believe funeral choices should be led by families' beliefs, values, tastes and lifestyle.
"Alternative funerals can help with the grieving process and be more comforting."
But turning your loved one into a diamond doesn't come cheap – it costs about £12,000.
The full article contains 928 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
