Funerals Without God

Humanist funerals are welcoming of people from all faiths and of none.  Their purpose is celebrate the life that has been lived and offer an opportunity for reflection on the life of the deceased and to bid farewell.

Celebrations of Life

 As a funeral celebrant I am sensitive to the needs of the bereaved family and friends, empathetic to the experience of bereavement, and focused on providing a funeral ceremony that will be most fitting for the circumstances. I am familiar with cremation and burial procedures and will guide you through the whole process of arranging a funeral ceremony.

As your chosen funeral celebrant I will:

•  Work with the family or friends most closely connected with the person who has died to learn more about that person and ensure that the funeral justly captures their life and personality. If this can’t be done in person, it can be done via a telephone or video call.
• Write a unique ceremony that is absolutely fitting for the person who has died and does not contain religious content.
• Advise on practical matters, such as the amount of time available for the ceremony at the crematorium, or other ways of holding a ceremony if there can be no attendance at the crematorium.
• Listen to your ideas on music, readings, or symbolic gestures and can make suggestions that they feel may work for your family within any circumstances.
• Talk to you about how to personalise the ceremony, sharing their ideas and drawing on their experience and expertise.
• Liaise with those involved in the ceremony, for example, anyone who will be reading a tribute, poem, or piece of prose, to ensure all goes smoothly. Act as a calm presence on the day, leading the ceremony with warmth and dignity.
• Liase with the funeral director to make sure that the entire process of the funeral goes well.
• Give or send you a presentation copy of the final script.

A funeral can be a sad and emotional event but it is a celebration of someone’s life and of the joy and happiness that they brought to those who knew them – someone who was special to those around them. Such a celebration should acknowledge the emotional side of the funeral whilst remaining focused on the person who lived – who they were and what they meant to the people who knew them.

I provide special support in cases where the person has taken their own life or died as a consequence of substance abuse, for the deaths of babies and children and deaths resulting from criminal acts.

Most funerals in Spain are held at crematoria but they can also be held at other sites, in which case the funeral director will remove the body at the end of the ceremony for cremation elsewhere.  I can also guide traditional Spanish burials and burials at green sites.  Other related events where I officiate are memorial services, distribution of ashes and pre-planned funerals.

Everyone deserves a good funeral and humanist funerals are recognised as a very meaningful way of celebrating loved ones’ lives.

The Funeral Celebrant Accord