Respectful, meaningful and appropriate.
Have you ever attended a funeral and sat there thinking to yourself “that’s not the person I have known for x amount of years!”
Unfortunately, so many people go to the funeral of a friend or family member and find it doesn’t remotely resonate with, or reflect the person they knew and loved.
Funerals are the last and final chance we have to say our goodbyes; to honour the person who has died and to pay tribute to them in the most appropriate manner. It’s one of the hardest things in life that any of us have to do and it’s a crucial part of the grieving process to ensure that the final farewell is exactly right.
Working closely with Funeral Directors, I provide sympathetic and respectful home visits to help you develop a funeral service that reflects the life of the person who lived. I can offer guidance regarding music, poems and readings, to really capture the essence of the person you loved.
Unlike my Humanist colleagues, I am happy to incorporate hymns and other religious content within the service. I often hear people say that they don’t necessarily want a fully religious service for their loved one, but would like the inclusion of a hymn or the Lord’s Prayer, for example. You have full control over the elements included within the service.
If you feel the allocated 20 or 30 minutes timeslot at your local crematorium is to restrictive to complete a fitting memorial to your loved one, why not consider the memorial to occur at a different location and time to the committal? The crematorium is where we say farewell. The memorial is when we talk about our loved one and, for some, how lucky we were to have them in our life, however long or short.
I encourage participation from family and friends and can discuss this with you at the family meeting. My priority is to ensure that the life of your loved one is celebrated in the most fitting and appropriate manner.
For those people who are terminally ill or simply want to plan their own funeral, I would be honoured to help you to achieve the appropriate ceremony for you. Please contact me to discuss your personal circumstances.
You don’t have to adhere to the normal tradition of how we say farewell.
