Funerals
Funeral services are also available.
These can be held formally in a hall or a church, or at a location of your choosing ...even a boat in the Marlborough Sounds.
Please contact me if you would like further details on the services provided.
The following is a short synopsis of how a service can be held.
Most non-religious funeral ceremonies acknowledge loss and celebrate a life without employing religious rituals. They offer a dignified alternative to the traditional religious funeral service and are made memorable by being personally tailored to each individual situation, with the wishes of the family taken fully into account.
A typical ceremony will usually include:
- Favourite or appropriate music (of any kind)
- A welcome and a brief explanation of the ceremony
- Poetry or prose readings
- A 'tribute' to the deceased, mainly biographical, often with short contributions from family, friends and colleagues
- A time of reflection for silent meditation or private prayer
- The Committal or words of farewell
- A brief close, which can include thanks and announcements
- Prior to the funeral, an officiant will normally visit a family to map-out the ceremony and to form a rounded picture of the deceased. At this stage it may also be important for families to freely discuss various options in relation to procedure during the ceremony.
- Detailed preparation prevents reliance on a standard text or format, and in the days leading up to the ceremony time and care is devoted to writing and compiling a tribute both factually accurate and with the appropriate tone. By this process, each ceremony can be developed afresh with families who welcome the opportunity for choice and personal input.
- Celebration of Life Services may be conducted at Funeral Home Chapels, Crematorians, cemeteries, private venues/ gardens., and other burial grounds (subject to restriction).
- Memorial ceremonies are more usually conducted elsewhere and after some time has elapsed following the funeral. However in some circumstances, for example where there is no body or a body has been accepted for medical research, a memorial ceremony may take the place of a funeral.
- All Officiants are non-judgemental, empathic and have wide life-experience; many have professional backgrounds.
