Jonathan Somerville

Having served as the minister of churches for nearly 30 years, This next season of ministry sees Jonathan devoting more time to helping families journey through the milestone moments of life. As an ordained minister, Jonathan is well experienced in and  can offer services to mark births, marriages, and deaths,  as well as other significant life moments

These can be distinctively Christian, or spiritual without being religious.

Jonathan has pastored churches that have been marked by great diversity, and has vast experience, including Caribbean funerals, Nigerian naming ceremonies, and weddings tailored to each individual couple.

Jonathan is also available to offer pastoral support to businesses and institutions in times of grief.

Direct Cremations

Many people are opting for a Direct Cremation. This is a service where the funeral director will make arrangements for a cremation to take place, but without a service, and usually with no-one else in attendance.  These are often intended as being a more affordable alternative to a traditional funeral, with an encouragement that the family might use money to do some other form of event to remember a loved one.

If you should choose to take this option, Jonathan can still be available to help comfort the family, and can also create and lead memorial moments during those later celebrations of life. Should you need someone to lead the whole event, or just a brief act  of remembering, during your celebration, Jonathan can help. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to discuss the pros and cons of Direct Cremations.

Church Weekends and Other Speaking Engagements

Jonathan draws upon a rich pastoral experience, and enjoys speaking at church weekends, leadership awaydays, or focused days of teaching on a wide variety of topics. He's also available to preach on Sundays, or cover for ministers during Sabbaticals or Sick Leave.

Are you planning a Church Weekend, and looking for a theme and speaker? Or, does your leadership team need some focused teaching or facilitated conversations on issues you are facing? Do you, as a minister, need an independent colleague to work through your thinking and understanding?

Jonathan can help with all of these. With ready-to-go Church weekend sessions on Deepening Your Prayer Life, Discovering What You’re Here For, or Reaching Your Potential, or tailored to the topics you wanted to be covering.

Jonathan is very aware of the many ways that life’s issues can cause leadership teams to search for help. If you’re facing some pastoral challenges, he might be able to help.