PERSONALISED OPTIONS
Interviewing the Family
With the purpose of creating a personal and unique farewell for your loved one, I will meet with you and assist you to achieve your desired outcome. The interview may be one-on-one or with multiple family members and friends of the deceased, in a relaxed location, where they can talk openly and share their memories. I will take notes to assist me to personalise the story of your loved one's life.
I can assist you in writing your own tribute or, if you require a Eulogy to be written, the interview can go into more detail to enable me to deliver a personalised message in memory of your loved one. At the conclusion of this meeting, the elements of the funeral will have been decided and the order of the service will be outlined.
The Aim
I aim to deliver, with compassion, sincerity, and care, a service specific to your needs and wishes.
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During the service, I aim to use words that express, record for posterity, and honour the life of the person who has died. I aim to tell the life story of the deceased, mark the achievements, and praise the ideals and ambitions of the life of the special individual who has been lost. I aim to encourage those attending the service to gather as a community to support the family and collectively pray for their loved one's peace, hope and comfort.
THE FORMAT
The Eulogy
You can write your own Eulogy and present it yourself or I can read it for you.
If preferred, I can write and deliver the Eulogy, in the form of a chronology of the deceased's life.
Stories and memories of loved family members and friends, honoured in a carefully constructed Eulogy become a part of our family history. They reinforce us with a sense of pride and knowledge of our identity and they honour the legacy that has been left.
Tributes
The Eulogy is often enhanced by tributes from family members, work colleagues or friends.
You may prefer to write something that I can read for you or you can deliver it yourself.
Presenting you own tribute certainly brings a heartfelt and very personal touch to the service.
Emotional tributes, albeit difficult, are the greatest compliment you can make to the deceased and the family — creating a memory that will stay with you and the family forever.
The Commital
At the end of the service the Committal is the concluding rite of the funeral.
You may wish to choose you own words to be read as part of the Committal.
If a prayer was specifically requested by the departed or by the family, it would be presented here.
Symbols can be very meaningful and moving — photos on display or on the coffin, university degrees, football jumpers, tools of the trade, inventions, creative works or uniforms.
Flower placements may also form a part of the funeral as a symbolic gesture, and may take place as people enter the service, after the Reflection or prior to exiting the funeral.
SUGGESTED RESOURCES
Music
To many families, nothing is more important than the songs or music cherished by their loved one or those that reflect and express a certain aspect of their unique personality.
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Generally, three pieces of music are required —Entrance music, Reflection Music and Exit Music.
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Please find here an extensive list of service music options to help you farewell your loved one and celebrate their life.
Poems and Readings
Poetry and prose can communicate and recognise the qualities of the beloved, or they may have been one of their favourites.
These dedications also give an opportunity for those who were close to the deceased to participate in the service without the burden of trying to find their own words.
Dedications can be delivered by family or friends, or I can present them for you.
Please find here an extensive list of poems and readings to help you farewell your loved one.
Quotes
Quotations from literature can recognise the qualities of the beloved, or they may have been one of their favourites.
Read with feeling, they can elevate the ceremony with respect and thankfulness.
Once again, I can offer suggestions at the interview or you can pick your own piece.
Please find here an extensive list of quotes to help you farewell your loved one.