Tonight we usually have church - instead we attended the funeral of John (Grant’s Father). I was asked to say a prayer of thanksgiving for the life of John. I must admit I walked away from today with mixed emotions. I wondered at why we couldn’t have both - that is church and the funeral. I wondered why people would organise a non religious funeral out of respect for John (being non-religious) and still want to have a prayer of thanksgiving. I wondered how people after the service could confuse a ‘prayer of thanksgiving’ with a well articulated speech.

I felt like screaming out - don’t you know the difference between prayer and speech, and John may not have been religious, but we are all spiritual, and why can’t we still gather tonight and allow the God of Comfort the opportunity to comfort.

Has the void become so great that people no longer recognise God at a funeral?