Churches can help us move past the very British fear of death

Rev Canon Yvonne Tulloch, CEO of charity AtaLoss, has been on a mission to address the UK’s ignorance over death, after her husband died suddenly. Here she explains why we need to train churches in bereavement support. 

Easter is here, and like Lent, it has themes of suffering and death, which are rather unattractive.  Add to that our British culture’s general aversity to death, it’s no wonder the Easter period isn’t celebrated as much as Christmas.

For almost a century our British culture has been ‘death denying’. Since the two world wars and due to increased medical advances, we have pushed death away, confining it to hospitals, hospices and funeral directors – almost kidding ourselves that it will only affect us when we’re 90.  However, death is a universal experience, as certain as life itself, and sooner or later we will face our death or that of someone else.