CELEBRANT SERVICES

The funeral ceremony can be an important part of the healing process...

Creating the Funeral to Honour Your Loss

There are many things about our services we consider unique, but one of the main things is the celebrant role offered by Rupert, not usually a role practiced by the funeral director. This further contains the intimacy we hope to create with a family. No need to tell the story of your loss to one more person, no 2 hour visit to learn the entirety of a life. A uniquely joined up approach that is at the heart of what we do.

We are here to discuss all options for the funeral, to help with the practicalities and paperwork and to make it happen. Once we know if it is to be a burial or a cremation, and who will be holding the service, we can help you decide on what this is going to look like. We can discuss possible alternative venues, the ceremony itself, what is to be said and who will be speaking.

Together we can help you to create the funeral that serves you all best, based on your beliefs and wishes. It can include elements of religion such as prayers and hymns or it can be totally non-religious, and we have a portable speaker, so can play music at the ceremony, wherever it may be held.

Some people come with a clear plan and others need a little guidance, so please talk to us about your thoughts and wishes.

And there other choices to be made:

Your Choices

Coffins and Urns

We have a range of environmentally friendly coffins, shrouds and beautiful biodegradable urns. We also sell these independently of our funeral services.

Order of Service

You may wish to have an order of service. This is not compulsory, and maybe a Memorial Card is enough, simply with photos and reflections. We have examples of previous designs and can supply details of stationers who can print them for you

Hearses and Transportation

We use an estate car as our hearse, but if you wish to have something as an alternative, we would be able to arrange this for you.

Flowers

We have connections with many florists and can help advise, especially if there is a wish to use flowers sympathetic to the natural, green ideal.

Music

Talk to us about any music you may wish to have played and we will try our best to locate this for you. Crematoriums now have the option of providing a wide range of music, as well as photo tributes and colour schemes.

The Wake

When this happens, and how this looks, can be another factor to consider when planning the day. We are happy to talk through options to make the whole day run smoothly.

The Healing Power of Words

Done well, it can be a beautiful reflection of the person’s life.

You are more than welcome to choose your own celebrant, or a person from your faith. Or, alternatively, if you yourself, or someone you know, feels capable of leading the funeral service, you can hold this space yourself. Whatever your wishes are, we are happy to help. And regardless of whether or not you use Rupert, we will still be with you every step of the way, on the day of the funeral.

But, the Green Funeral Company can offer the option of having us hold the ceremony, with Rupert as Celebrant.

We are neither Christian nor Humanist. That is to say, we are neither wholly one nor the other, so are happy doing a full religious service, or one without any mention of God.

We owe a great deal to the Quaker notion of speaking truth, the Christian sense of hope, and the Humanist belief in an individual’s potential. We believe that people have important things to say to each other, but in our busy modern lives are starved of the time and opportunity to do so. A funeral can create the right conditions to say these things.

And if you choose to use us as your celebrant, then we will work with you further to truly learn about the person. To go deeper than their biography and to acknowledge the complexity of your combined lives, their loves, the highs and the lows. Recognising the need for understanding and forgiveness, and the healing power of words.

“After a couple of meetings, both in my own home, Rupert created a service that was perfect. With input from myself and with passages that my wife had picked for herself, he combined Buddhist, shamanic and even Methodist writings and ideas into a seamless service. In fact, I have had many people ask me how long Rupert had been a friend of the family and they were all, without exception amazed to find out that we had only met a few days previously. He managed to capture my wife so well, even things we hadn’t talked about that it was a truly personal and special ceremony in a very beautiful setting.”

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