We went to my husband's grandfather's funeral yesterday.
I'd already posted a few times on this subject, so not to bore anyone I'll quickly remind you of the story. Grandpa became ill and needed care. we wanted him to come and live with us, but hubbys mum said NO because we're not JWs anymore and it was their responsibility to take care of his 'spiritual needs' , so they put him in a care home hundreds of miles away from family. He broke his hip a few months, in the care home, and finally died a very horrible death just over a week ago.
We were shocked to be told there was not going to be a funeral. In a few months time they will have a memorial service at the local KH.
Even my parents, devout JWs were surprised about the non funeral.
My mum's words were, 'you'll see, someone will turn up for the cremation, someone good, a real christian with a conscience,' words I remembered. We decided as a family to go to the cremation and arranged with the crematorium staff that we could walk behind the coffin when it was delivered to the crematorium and sit for a minute while the curtains were drawn and the coffin left. We hoped, really hoped that someone other than us would also turn up.
We sat in the waiting room and in came a lovely elderly man. He was introduced by the undertakers as the local Church of England Minister for Grandpa's area.
'I couldn't let him go on his last journey on his own,' he said. ' I'm so glad someone else turned up to be with him. I've not come to give a service or pray or anything like that,' he said quickly.
We just told him how glad we were that he'd come and thanked him.
We all filed in behind the coffin. He went up to the coffin for a moment and said his own prayer with his hand on the coffin and a few moments later the curtain came around and it was over.
We thanked everyone and left.
When my mum rang later to see how it had gone, I told her that someone of good conscience had turned up and it was a C of E Minister, she exclaimed ' Oh No! of all the people...'
I said that not one single elder or MS or JW had bothered to turn up for Grandpa's last journey.
She began making excuses straight away about how the probably didn't want to go against family wishes and then said ' but we never said that ALL the people in the world are bad.'
I told her that the only bad ones were the ones who thought that they were better than anyone else and that everyone else was bad, not them.
I didn't really want to argue with her though, as she and my father are both unwell at the moment, but I know that if they'd have been fit enough they would also have come to the crematorium with us, just to say goodbye.
So, a christian, someone with real conscience DID turn up.
But it was a awful thing to see someone arrive at the crematorium on their own, to all intents and purposes of the persons who organized the cremation, on their last journey on their own.
I'm glad we went, and I'm glad the C of E Minister came.