Celebrancy and Funerals

I came to Celebrancy work many years ago as a result of feeling very unsatisfied with the limited funeral options presented to my family at the time of my mother’s death. I felt that we deserved more empathy, and a sense of being heard, so decided to do the funeral myself. It was a very powerful experience and as a consequence, I was asked to conduct a friend’s funeral, which was a pleasure and a privilege to be part of.

The feedback was so positive from the family that I decided to study the whole process involved in the conducting of funerals (including the OBOD funeral celebrant’s course) and to offer my services to the wider community.

Funerals:

I bring to the funeral my own sense of awe and respect for each unique life and for the transition of this life to death. The essence of the entire funeral service is the honoring and expression of the wishes and memories of the family. I deeply believe that it is so important to listen carefully to the family, and weave the stories and memories into a beautiful ritual that honors the deceased with warmth and compassion and joy. The service can include hymns or songs, prayers, poems, reflections and anecdotes from those special to the person. This can be created into a deeply spiritual celebration or equally it can simply honor the person with no religious content whatsoever. Whatever the choice, the celebration will be deeply honoring of the person who has just passed.