I am a humanist funeral celebrant based in Devon. I'm also a dad, a guitar player, a linocut hobbyist and a great lover of the countryside.
As a teacher and ex-headteacher, I am used to working with families and young people and I'm used to helping out when times are hard. I love to meet people and make a connection with them, I am curious about people and love to learn about their lives and their stories. I like to help and, from my own experience, I know that helping people to say goodbye to people they have lost in the way which is right for them is a powerful way to help in a time of need.
No two people are the same, so no two funerals should be.
As humanist celebrants, we start every new job with a blank page - do you want to include some music? A reading? Does somebody want to speak? We aren't tied to any liturgy or form of words - we can make the funeral be whatever you need it to be. We can add elements of ritual that allow everyone present to feel they have played a part in the ceremony or we can keep it absolutely simple - that's absolutely up to you.
A funeral can be a difficult thing. It's my job, alongside your funeral directors, to make it as smooth as possible. I will meet with you to create a ceremony that properly honours the person who we are remembering.
I'll want to hear all the stories - the ones that show them as they were, the ones that make you laugh every time, the ones that will make us stop and think. I'll want to hear about their life, their work, their family and friends, their interests, their habits - good and bad. Everything that made them them. My goal is to make the funeral as individual as the person we are remembering and as 'right for them' as their shoes or their favourite jacket.
Once I have spoken to you, and to anyone else you think I should hear from, I will write a script for a ceremony that I think will be right for your needs. You will see every word that I'm going to speak and you will be able to suggest revisions, ask for details to be added or for elements to be left out.
It's your ceremony and it's important to me that you are happy with every detail. On the day, I'll be there to help out if needed and to make sure that you don't feel worried or pressured to run the ceremony.
If you'd like a funeral ceremony that has warmth and humanity throughout, that captures the story of the person who has died and which brings everyone together, please get in touch. I'd love to help.
