Covid: Celebrant told funeral prayer broke rules

Celebrant Alison Davies says she was told off in front of mourners

A celebrant said she was left feeling "flabbergasted" when she got in trouble for inviting mourners to recite a prayer at a funeral.

Alison Davies said a council official told her she broke Welsh Government Covid rules which banned chanting.

Bridgend council apologised for any upset caused but said it was following rules which allow only one person to speak at a time.

The Welsh Government said praying in a "low tone" does not breach the rules.

Ms Davies said the family of a woman whose funeral she was conducting at Coychurch Crematorium, in Bridgend, had asked her to end the service with the Lord's Prayer.

She said she had just finished speaking when she was approached by an official who told her, in front of mourners, she had broken government guidelines.

'Congregation mumbling'

"To be honest, I was quite flabbergasted," she said.

"There was no way we were chanting or shouting, the congregation were mumbling the Lord's Prayer really.

"So I was quite upset to find that I'd done something wrong because I've been trying to follow the rules."

Ms Davies said grieving families had already been deprived of "so much" and the incident was "the final straw".

She said it had upset the grieving family.

The funeral had been taking place at Coychurch Cemetery

A Bridgend council spokesman said it believed prayer to constitute chanting under the Welsh Government's coronavirus legislation.

"We appreciate the Lord's Prayer is of great comfort to many of those attending services and we are sorry if our actions caused any upset," he said.

"We ensured at no point was the service interrupted, only gently informing the member of clergy as they left the chapel that next time, the Lord's Prayer can only be read out by one individual."

But the Welsh Government called on venues to "use common sense" when applying the law.

"While chanting is restricted in funerals, speaking in a low tone to pray would not be considered against the guidance," a spokeswoman added.