Whilst saying goodbye to a loved one, can be a very sad time in one’s life, it should also be seen as a time to celebrate the life, love and joy you have all enjoyed throughout their life, however long or short it may have been.
In her medical career Jane has, on numerous occasions, had to say goodbye to patients, give them last offices, break bad news to their relatives and console them in their time of grief.
Sarsen Celebrants have been privileged to officiate at many funerals, we spend time in advance of the ceremony with the relatives to get to know about their loved one. At a very stressful time we take the time to gently plan the content of the ceremony. The planning can take a few days, after the initial meeting. We will communicate closely with you and make sure the words, songs and tributes are as expected.
Quite often families have very strong views and ideas about how they want to remember and respect the wishes of the departed. Many people are organised enough to have left a list of things they want to include. Some bereaved families have no idea about how or what is expected.
Our job as civil celebrants is to listen, reflect and build structure into the conversations we will have together. Together we will build a vision of how you would like to say goodbye and pay tribute to your loved one. No two ceremonies will be the same, we do not have a standard template that we make you fit into, in fact, quite the opposite, as we tailor every tribute to your wishes.
If you should choose cremation then we will have a tighter time frame for the inclusion of songs, readings and eulogy. We will work on your behalf with the funeral directors to ensure that the service makes the optimal use of the time allocated.
Should you choose a woodland burial the timings tend to be less strict, so more can be included in your farewells. There will be other things to consider, like music in an open space, weather, seating (if required), roles for the family and friends as it could be less structured than in a council run crematorium.
You may be looking for a celebrant to officiate at the scattering or interment of ashes, something again we can offer.
In the recent times due to infection control, the hospital goodbyes, and cremations of people, suspected of, or who have died from COVID-19 have been short and impersonal.
You may feel that a Celebration of Life Ceremony would be a fitting tribute that has been denied to your loved one. Being able to celebrate a life, remember the good times and say goodbye properly are vitally important rituals, we all need to say goodbye or farewell as it gives us a chance to grieve for our loss and hopefully give some closure from what can only be described as an awful situation.
If you are looking for a truly bespoke service, with an engaged non-religious celebrant, you are in the right place.
Why don’t you get in touch with us for an understanding, no obligation chat about your plans, we will be happy to advise you and help you through a stressful time. We are available on our mobile phones at all times. If for some reason we cannot answer, leave a short message we will get back to you as soon as possible.
“Death is not extinguishing the light,
It is only putting out the lamp,
because the dawn has come.
Rabindranath Tagore
