It used to be technically illegal to use a Church of England service for the funeral of someone who commits suicide. This indicates the legacy of poor pastoral practice, and the accompanying suspicion of the church, in this area. However, as a result of his work on this study the author proposed a Private Members Motion in the Church of England’s General Synod to modify the offending canon which passed with a huge majority.This profound and helpful study explores the reasons for this, the pastoral needs and opportunities, and makes use of the latest thinking on suicide to advocate key changes to practice. It includes a wealth of invaluable resources.
