Andrew Brown never expected to become a funeral director, and certainly never imagined he’d one day be leading church services as a lay minister. But looking back, he feels that, after years of searching, he’s finally found where he’s meant to be.
“I think it’s only really now, in my 60s, that I’ve found what I was actually supposed to do,” he said. “It’s taken a while, but I know I’m where I’m meant to be.”
Andrew, from Clifton, Nottingham, has been part of A.W. Lymn The Family Funeral Service for the past seven years, stepping into the role of funeral arranger in 2018 when a vacancy opened up. Before that, he worked in the Church of Holy Rood, Edwalton, as a caretaker and verger, overseeing administrative tasks and helping with funeral arrangements. It was this hands-on involvement with bereavement and church life that unknowingly prepared him for the direction his life would take.
“I’ve had a bit of a varied background,” he explained. “I’ve done photography, I’ve driven taxis, it’s been quite a mix. But it was working in the church that first got me thinking more deeply about the role of funerals and faith. Even then, I didn’t realise where it was leading.”
Soon after joining the award-winning funeral directors, which today operates 25 funeral homes across the East Midlands, Andrew threw himself into training, gaining diplomas in both funeral arranging and funeral directing. “It was a big step,” he said. “I hadn’t done any formal education in years, but once I started the diplomas, I realised I could still do it.”
Although he grew up in a Christian family and his father was a lay minister too, faith wasn’t something Andrew truly embraced until later in life. “I didn’t really come to faith properly until my mid-30s,” he said. “It was after having children. You start asking those bigger questions and wondering what life’s really all about.”
His return to church began through bringing his children along to family services. But something shifted. Over time, his faith deepened, though he remained on the edges of church life. That changed when he bumped into the minister from Clifton at Wilford Hill crematorium.
“We got chatting, and I went along to her church, and I really liked it.”
After a couple of years of quietly attending, Andrew approached the vicar and said he felt he could do more. She suggested he consider lay ministry training.
“I didn’t have big plans for it at first,” he said. “But I’d done the diplomas, I’d gone back into learning, so I thought, why not?”
He began the two-year lay ministry course in 2023. “It starts with a retreat, which was actually a really good way to ease into it,” he said. “Then it’s Monday evenings during term time, sometimes on Zoom, sometimes in person at Jubilee House in Southwell. There are modules you all do, and then you choose some electives. You need two, but I ended up doing four, just because there were more I wanted to explore.”
Initially, Andrew had no intention of choosing the funeral module, but on reflection, felt it could be beneficial. “I thought it might be good to see it from the other side. So, I did it, and I’m glad I did,” he said.
Now, as a licensed lay minister, Andrew preaches and leads services once a month. The overlap with funeral directing is significant and powerful. “There are a lot of shared skills,” he said. “Both roles are about being calm, being present, and helping people through loss. It’s about listening, supporting, and just being with people when they need it.”
Although he has no plans to pursue full ordination, Andrew finds immense reward in his dual roles. “It’s not about standing at the front,” he said. “It’s about being there for people. Really being there for them. Whether that’s in a chapel, at a graveside, or in a church, it’s a privilege to be part of that moment in someone’s life.”
What began as a chance encounter has grown into a vocation. And in the most unexpected way, Andrew has followed the path of the father he never thought he’d emulate. “I never set out to follow in his footsteps,” he said. “But here I am. And it just feels right.”
A.W. Lymn was established in Nottingham in 1907 and has grown to become one of the UK’s largest independent funeral directors, operating 25 branches across the region. Having recently acquired M.A. Mills and expanded into Leicestershire, it continues to grow its reach and network of talented funeral directors supporting the bereaved.