It’s All About Them…

​Very often, I ask families to give me a few words to describe the person they have lost and the kind of ceremony they want. The answers are always so revealing, personable and poignant, for example:

“it should be uplifting, not morbid, a celebration, they had a great sense of humour, they were full of life, a great cook, loved motorbikes, a very private person, terrible at DIY, grumpy in the morning, swore like a docker, could talk for England, they loved a G&T!”

…and so on, through the full and exotic spectrum of human quirks and small characteristics that make them, them!

​Funerals should be sensitively handled, authentic and true representations of the life lived, no matter how long or short that precious life was. Tragedy and grief are indeed unstoppable forces, and just have to be, but they don’t walk alone – life, love and remembrance will always endure.

 

But it is Personal…

​I think we may have all been to funerals that were less than representative of the person who died. I have attended family funerals that were profoundly unsatisfying experiences, simply due to the lack of personalisation and care with the details, not following family wishes and, in one case, even getting the name wrong.

Like all other Humanist UK funerals and memorials, my ceremonies are far away from the ‘insert name here’ school of writing, as I invest whole-heartedly on taking the time to visit, to listen, to record and respect the lives and stories told to me and work hard to reflect it back in a meaningful way. You will always be given the opportunity to read and check the script before and, at the end, I will give you the final version as a presentation copy for you to keep.

​For more information, please contact me to discuss your needs.

 

The Funeral Celebrant Accord

The Funeral Celebrant Accord is a much needed central organisation that was set-up to raise awareness for the need of a code of best practice across the board for all types of funeral celebrants, including Humanists UK, ensuring that everyone receives a meaningful, professional funeral.

Humanists UK training and professional network ensures that their celebrants are continuously monitored, supported and peer-reviewed, with a robust feedback procedure and continuous professional development as standard practice. I am very proud to be part of Humanists UK celebrants, a network that so actively promotes and maintains the highest standards.

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