{"id":389,"date":"2021-09-27T16:19:21","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T16:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/?page_id=389"},"modified":"2025-12-29T11:58:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T11:58:02","slug":"ceremonies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/ceremonies\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ceremonies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-98 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/664\/2020\/05\/family-sunset-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/664\/2020\/05\/family-sunset-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/664\/2020\/05\/family-sunset.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>My ceremonies, whether they are funerals, burials, scatterings, interments or memorials, can bring comfort and closure for those left behind. Let me help you to craft a ceremony that is entirely fitting for your circumstances and your loved one. A ceremony may be a conventional funeral &#8211; the convention has its comforts in its protocols and etiquettes &#8211; but a ceremony can still be unique and personal.\u00a0 Or you may be looking for an event that is more bespoke and informal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">My goal is to sound as though I knew the person I am talking about by capturing the essence of their personality and reflecting the impact they have had. I do not have a formula for my ceremonies but choose instead to create an event that has meaning for you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">There might be the constraints of crematorium time-slots or the complications of people attending online; you may want to include children in the proceedings or you may want have a display of key memorabilia or have live music. You may want to ditch convention altogether and have a get-together in the village hall with the coffin driven off to the crematorium with everyone waving goodbye. You might want to take the ashes on a favourite hike and gather people together for a picnic and a shared scattering. Or you may be planning ahead for your memorial event\u00a0 or &#8216;leaving do&#8217; that combines with an exhibition or concert. There are many options and variations, and lots of decisions to make when you are feeling vulnerable or distressed. But I can guide you through and deliver a ceremony that fits with your wishes.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">My Humanist beliefs directly inform my ceremonies where I emphasise the humanity and individual qualities of the person who has died, concentrating on their meaning and legacy to their families, friends and humankind. Although it is unlikely that I will include references to supernatural forces or life after death in a ceremony, I am happy to acknowledge and include the range of faiths present &#8211; death should unite, not divide us in a shared appreciation of the value of life and our common human experience<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My ceremonies, whether they are funerals, burials, scatterings, interments or memorials, can bring comfort and closure for those left behind. Let me help you to craft a ceremony that is entirely fitting for your circumstances and your loved one. A ceremony may be a conventional funeral &#8211; the convention has its comforts in its protocols [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-389","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":577,"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/389\/revisions\/577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanist.org.uk\/joannamutlow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}