A GROUP of 34 people from nine parishes in the Cork and Ross Diocese have recently undertook training to become funeral ministers, owing to declining priest numbers.
Teams of funeral ministers have been trained in local parishes to lead prayers at removals and wakes, and to support grieving families by assisting them with the preparation for funeral masses.
‘It’s a lovely ministry to be involved in. It’s a support to the faith community of the parish,’ said Margaret Hurley from Templemartin, who is now a funeral minister for the Drimoleague and Drinagh parishes.
When her local priest called upon lay people to get involved, Margaret answered, and attended the training to support her parish.
‘We are reenacting something that was done in the past,’ she said, referring to the time before funeral homes existed, when communities supported grieving families in funeral preparations and prayer.
Don Mcsweeney from Newcestown shared Margaret’s motivation for becoming a funeral minister.
As a proud community man and former Newcestown GAA chairman, Don took on a funeral ministry role in the Murragh and Timplemartin parish.
‘I think it’s nice for people to get involved, because we’re all members of the community afterwards and we’re all proud of our community,’ he said.
Don followed the footsteps of his mother Eileen McSweeney, who was one of the first funeral ministers in the diocese in 2010.
The new funeral ministers come from the parishes of Barryroe, Castlehaven, Drimoleague/Drinagh, Dunmanway, Enniskeane, Kilbrittain, Kilmurry, Murragh, Templemartin and Timoleague.
It is the first time that Drimoleague/Drinagh and Kilmurry will have a funeral team, while Kilbrittain are restarting their team following a break in the ministry.
All the other parishes were adding to the team they already have in place.
