Christmas Carol Service at Parndon Wood Cemetery & Crematorium

Parndon Wood Cemetery & Crematorium is inviting local community to visit on Friday 16 December to take part in its annual Christmas Carol and Memorial Service.

The festive gathering provides a valuable opportunity for families and friends to come together and remember their loved ones in the run up to Christmas.

But anyone who, for whatever reason, is not able to attend in person will not miss out, as the ceremony will be made available online through Obitus, the crematorium’s webcast provider.

The service will run between 5pm and 7pm and include a mixture of readings and popular Christmas Carols. Refreshments will be available.

It is free to attend and no advance booking is required.

Visitors will be able to write messages to their loved ones on tags which will be added to a memory tree and will also be able to light candles.

Images of loved ones for the photo slideshow are welcome and should be emailed to parndonwood@westerleighgroup.co.uk by 2 December. Emails should be headed ‘Christmas service photo slideshow’.

Parndon Wood Cemetery & Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, the UK’s largest independent owner-operator of crematoria and cemeteries, with 37 sites across England, Scotland and Wales, all set within beautifully-landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide pleasant, peaceful places for people to visit and reflect.

Site Manager Vivienne Centala said: “Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of year for families who are missing loved ones, and our annual Christmas Carol and Memorial Service provides a fitting way for people to reflect and honour their loved ones during the festive season.

“For some, especially if they are quite recently bereaved, the festive period is often a time when they feel their loss more, and people can feel lonely.

“This service provides a chance for people to not only pay tribute to their loved ones but also be in the company of other people who are in a similar situation, which in itself can be a source of comfort.

“Whether people are attending here in person, or viewing the service online, we know, from feedback we’ve had in previous years, that the service brings some solace and peace to local people at this time of year.”

Those who wish to view the service as a live webcast should visit https://events.obitus.com/, enter the username ‘parndonwood’ and the password ‘snow’.

For those not able to watch it live, or those who attend but who would like to see it again, the service will be available to view online as a ‘watch again’ option, using the same details above, from Monday 19 December, for 28 days.