Funeral Services

I am sure you are all aware of the government’s clear message to the public to ‘Stay home, Protect the NHS and Save lives’.  We are all experiencing exceptionally difficult times and the virus is not only having a devastating impact on our normal way of life, but also the way in which funerals are carried out.  Funeral directors have been advised to limit the number of mourners to just ten, and in some cases, they are offering only direct cremations, without any mourners at all; this is heartbreaking for families and friends who have lost a loved one. In short, funeral services as we know them – and Humanist services in particular, which aim to celebrate the life lived, – have changed beyond all recognition.

Funeral celebrants like myself are having to make difficult choices about conducting services in the present climate, choices which can only be made if there are guarantees of safety and appropriate social distancing.  For me, there has been no question about continuing my work during this unprecedented pandemic. It is important to me to be available to grieving families and to conduct services, and so,  I am continuing with my work as a celebrant throughout this crisis.

Memorials

So many funerals will take place between now and a time in the future when our gatherings together will be safe. To lose a member of your family or your friend or partner can be traumatic, but to lose that person and to not be able to say goodbye is unimaginable: but this is what we are being asked to do.  One solution is to celebrate the life lived through memorial, where friends and family can meet at a later date to pay tribute with story, songs, poetry, film and food and drinks!  Conducting memorials is an area of my work which I treasure:  those who may have felt unable to speak at the time of the funeral may now feel able to do so; those who want to recite poems, or readings from a favourite book, sing a song, or play a musical instrument, can do so; at a memorial there is freedom and importantly, there is time.

How to plan for the memorial of your loved one

I can help you plan at any time – presently we can do this through Skype or Zoom or a similar platform which suits you.  Together we can arrange the order of the memorial service and once I know quite a bit about your loved one, I will write a unique tribute to them, to which you may wish to add spoken tributes from friends and family, music, theatrical performance, film, poems and even the release of doves. In fact, there are very few limits to what you can do on the day! And it will be my privilege to help you plan for and implement this important landmark.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss your ideas, or if you are seeking a little more guidance on how to proceed.

ruth.silverstone@humanistceremonies.org.uk

07779 719 562