At a recent SICA event, a CPD session on creative writing, I had a chat about naming ceremonies with Elaine Cormack, one of my celebrant colleagues. Of course typically, we tend to think of baby namings in a celebrant context.
Demystifying Death Week – SICA staged funerals
The initiative Good Life Good Death Good Grief organizes a week of activities each May to raise awareness of issues around end of life, death and funerals. It coincides with Dying Matters Week in England and Wales. This year SICA (Scottish
The Lonely Funeral
I’ve been interested for a couple of years in a project called The Lonely Funeral that operates in Belgium and the Netherlands. A “lonely funeral” is one where the person who has died has no friends or family and so
So, what does a celebrant do? Giving advice
This is an occasional series on the different things a funeral celebrant does or can do. You’re probably familiar with a celebrant being the person who conducts a funeral service. They write and deliver a eulogy… read a poem perhaps…
Echoes across the millennia
Some time ago I wrote about my family’s experience of commissioning a funerary urn for my father’s ashes. We had asked Ann Bates, a potter based in Derbyshire, to make the urn with input from us on shapes and colours
Commissioning a funerary urn
It’s almost four years since my father died in October 2017. At the time we weren’t able to have a funeral because dad left his body to medical science. We did hold a memorial service instead, just a couple of
The Sacred Screen
This weekend I attended an online teaching with the Zen Buddhist Upaya Institute. It was led by Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski. Joan is Abbot of the Upaya Monastery and Frank is co-founder of the Zen Hospice in San Francisco
A St David’s Day Online Memorial for my friend Bryan Bale
Last year one of my closest friends, Bryan Bale, died after a long illness. On Monday I conducted a one year on memorial on Zoom. It was pure coincidence of course but Bryan, always a proud Welshman, died on St
SICA Christmas Service
The very first SICA (Scottish Independent Celebrants’ Association) Christmas Service will be broadcast on their Facebook Page on Monday 21st December (Winter Solstice) at 7pm, and available on the page after that too. A group of celebrants from right across Scotland have
Paisley funeral – a day of journeys
Usually when I am asked to conduct a funeral, the family has already selected a funeral director. Sometimes, if they already know of me, they will ask the funeral director to contact me. More often the funeral director will suggest
Creating Rituals for Healing & Change
I completed some more CPD training in the form of a workshop last week. The session was led by William Ayot, poet, ritualist and teacher. There was a lot of discussion about different types of rituals – rituals of growth
Jane Sheppard – funerary urns
Just recently a friend of mine mentioned that he worked with a ceramic artist who is also a celebrant and interfaith minister, Jane Sheppard. He thought I might like to see her work, especially her funerary urns. I had a