Anglican priest: Return God to funerals

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, England, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- A Church of England priest complains he feels "like a lemon" when officiating at funerals where secular songs and poems replace the religious service.

The Rev. Ed Tomlinson, rector of St. Barnabas Church, a traditional parish in Tunbridge Wells, attacked secular funerals in his blog, The Daily Telegraph reported. He said many bereaved families appear to want "no Christian content whatever" when relatives are cremated, the most common method in England of disposing of bodies.

"I have then stood at the Crem like a lemon, wondering why on earth I am

present at the funeral of somebody led in by the tunes of Tina Turner, summed up in pithy platitudes of sentimental and secular poets and sent into the furnace with 'I Did it My Way' blaring out across the speakers," he said.

Much of the reaction to Tomlinson's rant was hostile, with Catherine Hylton, a parishioner, saying it was "beautiful" when her grandfather's body went into the furnace to "Good Day, Sunshine" by the Beatles.

But Jane Geer said she has found secular funerals "off key."

"Give me a good burial with a proper vicar anytime," she said. "It's the difference between cods roe and caviar."