Humanist Funerals and Memorials

An individual expression of love and respect

Funerals and memorials are significant rituals. When we die we continue to live on through other people’s memories of us – those people we care about, those we have known, those we have made some impression on.

They are a time to say goodbye to someone we have cared about, as well as an opportunity to celebrate their lives. While death is part of the life cycle, funerals mark the end of an era – the life of an individual. For this reason, it’s important that we conduct them in a way that feels right, for ourselves as well as a sign of respect or an expression of love for the person who has died. This is why I lead non-religious and humanist funerals, celebrations and memorials.

Find out more about Humanist funerals – give me a call. Nett Furley – 07771 595626.

Humanist funeral ceremonies – focusing on the individual

Nett Furley

Every ceremony is unique because it is focused on the individual – how they lived their life, who they were, what they meant to us. Funerals give us the chance to recall different aspects of the person’s personality, to listen to their favourite music or share a reading that reflects something of how we feel.

There are no rules about how we use this time, except that it should be as positive as we can make it.

This is something that I’ll help you to create.  I have plenty of experience leading funeral and memorial ceremonies. Each time I do so, it’s a privilege. It reminds me that every life is significant and that we have all offered the world something important. Sometimes we just forget what it was.

Of course, not every aspect of every life is positive. A Humanist funeral provides the opportunity to remember the real person. We all have different ways of living our lives – different values and experiences. A ceremony can reflect this.

A calm and professional approach

The end of a person’s life can be a challenging time. It may be that you already have an idea what you want the ceremony to be like, in which case I’ll support you in bringing it all together.

But if you don’t have a clear idea, then I’ll help you to produce a ceremony that will be a true representation of the individual.

I’ll guide you through the process in a way that’s both calm and professional. Together we’ll create an occasion that will provide a memorable and positive final goodbye.

After an initial telephone call, we’ll meet. We’ll include whoever you want in this meeting, or else I can speak to others separately. I’ll put the ceremony together with you. Then I’ll conduct either all or part of it on the day. It may be that others want to speak – or you may wish for me to speak on your behalf – or a mixture of the two.

Following the funeral, you’ll receive a presentation copy of the ceremony script for you to keep as a memento.

Find out more about Humanist funerals – give me a call. Nett Furley – 07771 595626.

Memorial ceremonies

Increasingly, families are choosing to plan a Memorial Ceremony for later. You might wish to celebrate a life months or years after it came to an end.

With more time to plan, others can take time to consider how they’d like to mark the person’s life – perhaps by being a little more creative about what to say, do, play, read, film etc.

Find out more about Humanist Memorial ceremonies. Nett Furley – 07771 595626.

A personal goodbye
One man’s experience of a Humanist funeral

‘…..The tone and content of your talk about my father were spot on. I shall remember your words forever’

‘… All that you said and did for us that day made it a memorable and positive time which made saying our goodbyes so much easier. In fact it left us all with a great feeling of peace.  You have a wonderful gift’

‘Thank you for a lovely service for our baby. . . . . your words were a great comfort to us. . .’

‘…Everyone agreed it was one of the best services they had ever attended. ..’

Pre-planning your funeral ceremony

People are becoming ever more willing to talk about death and to be more open about the process of dying.
This leads many of us to pre-plan our own funeral ceremony.

It might be that you are approaching the end of your life – or maybe it’s just something that you’re thinking of for the future.
Perhaps you don’t know where to start – or maybe you already have some ideas but need some help.

Read more about how I’ll help you pull together your own funeral ceremony.

Data Protection and Privacy Policy

As a Humanists UK celebrant, I receive personal information from you e.g. names, phone numbers and email addresses for the purpose of writing your ceremony script. Inevitably, a ceremony that best reflects your wishes and celebrates a life or a marriage is, by its nature, personal. All information received by me is stored securely and is only used for the specific purpose of producing a personalised ceremony. It will not be passed on to or sold to any third parties.
Live ceremony scripts are shared with my immediate Humanists UK colleagues in the event that I am unable to undertake a ceremony owing to illness or accident.
The personal information that you provide for the purpose of building a ceremony will be retained by me in case you require my services again and where such continuity is desirable. If you wish to have all your information erased immediately following a ceremony, or at any time thereafter, please get in touch by phone or email to confirm this and I will act accordingly.