Welcome to my Humanists UK profile. My name is Alex and I trained as a funeral celebrant in 2019, as a wedding celebrant in 2020, and in 2022 as a naming celebrant.
I guess I've always been a humanist (even though my childhood ambition was to become Archbishop of Canterbury - go figure!) but it was only really recently that I started to put a name to what I believe. Then, in 2011, our father died suddenly and we found ourselves faced with the task of arranging a farewell for him. What I loved most about the humanist service we went for was how personal it was. How much it was about him and the wonderful dad and friend he was. And, as we stood on that Welsh hillside, the Rolling Stones blasting out across the field... it just felt right. Now, my passion is about helping others have the same experience that we had.
Whenever I work with a family, I try and think back to how we felt at that awful, difficult time and treat people with the same compassion that my sisters and I needed then. My job as a celebrant is to help families work their way through the jumble of ideas (or, sometimes, total numbness and grief) and help them design the ceremony that works for them.
I gently encourage people to share their memories and ideas, and we take it from there. Because they are only going to do this once for the person they love, so they need to find a way of remembering that life which truly reflects who that person has been. Most of all, my job as a celebrant is to listen. I am there to help you have the funeral that you need, not to tell you what to do.
A friend asked me recently what made me want to become a celebrant. It’s very simple really – I love to tell stories. Being able to sit with someone’s family and friends, to hear all about the life they’ve lived, about how two people met and fell in love, or about their hopes for the future of their family – it is such a joy, and there is nothing that I love more. I learn something from every story I tell, and each ceremony is different. I've conducted funerals for people aged 0 to 101, people who've supported Spurs... and others who've supported their arch-rivals, Arsenal. I've talked about people from all walks of life - from Tommy Cooper impersonators and dinner ladies to oil rig workers and toolmakers. Every life has a story to tell.
