Hello, my name is Shirley. I was brought up by atheist parents, so have never had a religious faith; however, atheism itself failed in some way to express my belief in the goodness of man/womankind, and its capacity to nurture and care regardless of religion.

When my mother died (over 20 years ago now), we struggled to see how we could give her the ceremony she would have wished for. Fortunately for us the funeral director we chose directed us to Humanists UK, who solved the problem for us.

It was then that I discovered Humanism and realised that there are people who think as I do, that there is a moral code that we all should live by regardless of faith. My social conscience drew me to Humanism.

We all die, and most of us experience the death of someone we love at some point in our life. As a Humanists UK funeral celebrant, I will work with you to ensure the ceremony for your loved one is everything you wish it to be and more. I will spend time with you to establish what you and your family want from this final goodbye. I am a creative and compassionate person, open to suggestions that are a little out of the ordinary. If I can accommodate them I will, making your experience genuinely individual.

Both my parents died after a long illness; both knew that death was near and yet we didn’t speak about their funeral wishes. It’s an awkward conversation to have with close relatives. I can provide a ‘pre-need’ service spending time with you to ensure you get the service you want at the end of your life.

In my ‘day job’ I manage a third sector organisation dedicated to saving edible wasted food reaching landfill and making it available to the community through a series of cafes and food ‘outlets’. You can find out more about this at www.realjunkfoodprojectwigan.org.uk, we can provide an ethical buffet for your funeral if you wish too.

You can contact me on –

07727057129

shirley.southworth@humanistceremonies.org.uk

Data protection.

All information received is stored securely and used to produce a personalised ceremony. It will not be passed on to or sold to any third parties. In the event of illness etc, the ceremony script would be shared with a colleague, to allow your ceremony to take place. This shared script would then be erased by the colleague. The personal information that you provide for the purpose of building a ceremony, and the actual script, will be retained for a period of seven years in case you require my services again, and to provide continuity. All hard copy is shredded. If you wish you 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 do so.