21/11/2025
Today is National Funeral Celebrant Day ...
It's a real privilege to be a funeral celebrant. Meeting families at such a hard time in their lives, having lost a loved one, helping them to decide how they'd like to remember that person. Many times we remember with love and laughter, some times we remember with sadness and regret. A skilled, empathetic celebrant can help make a sad or difficult occasion at the least easier to bear, and at the best a heartfelt celebration.
A celebrant-led service can be as unique and individual as the person was themself. You can choose the words, the music, the place. Yes you can choose to hold the service at a crematorium, or burial ground if that feels right, but you can also have a memorial in a woodland, a village hall, on the beach, at their favourite pub ... whatever feels most appropriate.
It's true that many people are becoming interested in what are called "direct cremations", where there is no funeral service, but that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't have a separate memorial or celebration of life service. I think, as human beings, we take comfort in other people's company, and in being able to share stories, or just share time in reflection together.
I'm always happy to talk to families, or to people wishing to plan how to mark the end of their own life, to help them understand the options available and to set out their wishes if they'd like to do so.
Wishing you every kindness if you have recently been bereaved, or this is a time of remembrance for you.
Ruth
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