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OFFBEAT

Impoverished parish deploys trailer to transport dead

The diocese in Borgsjö/Haverö in northern Sweden has given permission for the use of a cargo trailer in place of the more conventional hearse to transport the dead of the parish on their final journey, reports the Sundsvalls Tidning (ST) newspaper.

Impoverished parish deploys trailer to transport dead

When the mortuary in nearby Alby and Ånge was closed a couple of years ago, a used hearse was purchased to drive the deceased to a new burial facility in Borgsjö.

But the vehicle was in such shabby condition that it too was soon laid to rest.

When divine intervention proved unforthcoming, church finances dictated that more creative solutions should be found.

A utility trailer, complete with a reinforced plastic cover and bungee ropes, was commissioned to perform the task instead.

“We have been given permission by the diocese to use the trailer,” said Tord Sundqvist, chairperson of the local church council to ST.

The decision has not however been received with a ringing hallelujah by all of the district’s residents.

“It isn’t dignified for a coffin to be transported by trailer,” said a local resident to ST.

But it seems that the parish is not unique in finding creative solutions to the problems of tight church budgets, according to Sundqvist.

He emphasized that, although the trailer is used to drive the dead to the burial chapel, coffins are carried to their final resting place by conventional means – on the shoulders of pallbearers or in a barrow.

“If there is anyone that is concerned about this they are welcome to get in contact with me,” he said.