Being Jewish, I have always been interested in the way non-Jewish funerals can take so long to happen and always thought it was because people take time to organise things. However, from experience, it is extremely painful to sort out a funeral in one to two days. You're in a state of shock, running around from hospital to registrars and back again etc to get documents and hardly know what you are doing. Having three weeks feels like a blessing when you are in that position.

Smirk:

 

I don't think some C of E priests can be *rsed. The two I came into contact with via two funerals had 2 services a week to deal with on Sundays.With a house thrown in and £10K salary a year.  A hard life.

The operative word being some - and you've got the salary wrong and the house is only thrown in until you retire then you're scuppered. Then there's PCC meetings that go on until 10pm at night, 3 funerals in a week equals 6 visits - again usually in the evenings to fit in with people's work commitments - trust me it's not a 9-5 job and they do way more than you actually realise. A bit like teachers only working 9-3 term time ;-)

Regarding the funerals side of things I am Anglican and licensed to do funerals and I can only comment on  my own experiences, but where I live (in the north) it is usual for them to take place within a week - if you wanted it the next day as long as the undertakers could do it and the family wanted that then there would be no problem. Burials are easy as you don't have to book a slot - in my experience the delay occurs in finding a slot at the crematorium that is free and suits family, undertaker and priest's diary. I reckon most of the ones I've been involved in - if it's a straightforward death - take palce on average - 4-5 days later.

I think it's hard comparing Jewish funerals with Christian ones - we don't get buried 'on site', we pay into a burial society all our lives, there isn't a choice of coffin or service, etc, it's very different.

 The delay is often not caused by the clergy. If the funeral is a cremation, then there can be a delay of a couple of weeks or more because there is no earlier slot available at the crematorium. Our local crematorium normally takes over two weeks to provide a slot for the service - and often nearer three weeks. That is a delay which the clergy cannot get round however much they want to do so.

There is also a delay in getting the extra medical signatures for a cremation compared with what is needed for a burial. Where the burial is taking place in a churchyard, then the timing can be much shorter - I have known this to be only about 5 days. Of course there is also the question of when the funeral director can be available.

There can, of course, be a problem fitting in the clergy diary. and co-ordinating with the diaries of family, funeral director and famil. Even the clergy cannot be in two places at once. If they already have a wedding or another funeral to officiate at - or are committed to being in school to lead collective worship, then it is clear that they cannot at the same time be taking a funeral.

Well not the SE England, one or two parishes in Kent.  I don't think you can say an example from one parish. My grandparents lived in the SE (herts) and it did not take 3 weeks. 

4-5 days is hard if you are trying to arrange a particular type of service.  As Flame said in a Jewish funeral you don't need to work out readings, hymns, find an organist that is free on the same day etc. 

 I know the media likes to tell us that Christianity is on its way out, but in fact all statistics show that it is still growing- I attend what you might call non-conformist (Pioneer Church) and we are growing.  As are many C of E.