My name is Andy Ison and I’m privileged to be a funeral celebrant trained and accredited by Humanists UK. I am based in Knaresborough and my work covers a large part of Yorkshire and the north of England. Over nearly ten years in this role, it has been my privilege to be alongside many hundreds of families in preparing and leading ceremonies .

I came to this role by a slightly unusual journey having been a religious minister in my twenties and thirties, but reached the point where I realised I had no faith in any deity or church. Like many other people, I wish I had accepted that a lot earlier in life. In 2000, I retrained as a secondary school teacher of history, and nowadays I work as a tutor and teach Adult Education, which gives me the flexibility to act as a Humanist celebrant.

The loss of my religious faith turned out to be a very positive and liberating experience. Many of us have no faith and neither seek nor find support in religious institutions – but we still have so much to celebrate and share in life. We want to be truthful, generous and open about what matters to us, and we need ceremonies that allow us to celebrate the significant moments of our lives. Under the umbrella of humanism we have the opportunity to gather and celebrate what matters to us in an honest, truthful and open manner.

It would be my privilege to work alongside you to create the ceremony that you want and need at this time. Our ceremonies are ways to celebrate the great events on our journey through life. To gather at these times, as family and friends, welcoming new people into our lives or saying goodbye to loved ones, celebrating love and commitment or recognising the importance of a change in life, these are powerful and deeply human things. We need ritual, we need time and space, we need to gather so as to connect, with ourselves and with others; we need life-giving and life-affirming ceremonies.

I would be delighted to work with you and for you, to create a ceremony that expresses all that you want to share and celebrate, whatever the circumstances.

To contact me:

Mobile – 07522 553491

Phone – 01423 541938

email – andrew.ison@humanistceremonies.org.uk