Funerals andÂ
Memorial Services
A funeral ceremony for your loved one can take place anywhere, contain any words and rituals you choose and be led by anyone. I once attended a funeral with no officiant or minister; friends and relatives simply stood up and talked about the person who had died. It turned out to be a memorable and beautiful occasion.Having said that, for most people, having someone to help write and lead a funeral can give important support at a difficult time. There are so many things to think about when someone has died and grief and shock can make it difficult to think clearly about the funeral ceremony.What is important is that a funeral reflects the wishes of close relatives and friends and those of deceased if they expressed any thoughts about their funeral before they died. As your funeral celebrant, I will work with you to create a funeral ceremony that is truly personal and supports you in honouring and saying farewell to your loved one as you would wish.To create the ceremony, I will meet with you and relatives and friends who will be involved in the ceremony. This meeting will enable me to learn as much as possible about the deceased so that I can write a ceremony that fully expresses their personality, their beliefs, their life and achievements. The ceremony can be religious, spiritual or secular depending on the faith (or none) of the deceased and/or relatives.There are no rules about what must, or must not, be included in a funeral ceremony. You can have a funeral at crematorium chapel, a church, at home; you can choose a green funeral/burial; any music you like, poems, rituals, readings, eulogy. All, some or none of the above are open to choice.Please feel free to contact me for any help or information you may need. I look forward to hearing from you.
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A memorial service differs from a funeral ceremony in that it usually takes place some time after a person has died and is intended to help friends and relatives honour the person's memory. So it might be that a memorial ceremony will be used to mark the first anniversary after someone's death or to make more special the spreading of the ashes if this occurs sometime after the funeral ceremony and cremation.A memorial ceremony does not need to be a big, public event. It may be that you and your close family wish to visit the grave or the area where the ashes were scattered and to spend time together remembering your loved one. No formal ceremony is necessary and you can devise your own rituals if you choose.On the other hand a memorial ceremony can be large and more formal and you might feel that you need some help creating a ceremony that truly honours the deceased and their memory.Please do get in touch if you feel my services would be helpful to you in creating a memorial ceremony.