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Funeral servicesThe religious service The religious serviceIf you have strong religious beliefs, the person conducting the service will often be someone personally known to you and your family. If your religious beliefs are not so strongly identified, you may prefer a lower-key funeral service. For instance, if you or your family are Christians, but don’t belong to any particular church, you can opt for a non-denominational funeral service. In this case, some clergy, lay preachers or others will lead a service based on Christian beliefs, tailored to meet your personal needs. The non-religious serviceIn some districts, members of the Humanist and Rationalist organisation are available to conduct funerals without any religious references. Your Griefcare funeral director will know if such a person is available locally. The celebrant serviceCelebrants are able to provide an alternative that is not aligned to any specific religious or non-religious organisation. It should be noted that some celebrants are only associated with weddings and do not take funeral services. Your Griefcare funeral director will be happy to advise you on suitable celebrants. Your funeral directorMany Griefcare funeral directors are experienced at conducting the service, but this is not their primary role. Your funeral director will advise you on this. Do-it-yourselfAnyone without a licence or official appointment can conduct funerals. For some families, being involved in putting together their farewell service with special personal touches is both therapeutic and appropriate. Your funeral director would be happy to give some guidelines as to how the ceremony could be constructed. No serviceThis is of course an option, but Griefcare funeral directors would not advise it. Often the reason for no service is an attempt to minimise pain in the short-term, but it can lead to long-term problems of regret and unacknowledged grief. Where no other course seems appropriate, an alternative would be to observe a brief period of remembrance in silence, or to a background of music. Making a service more personalThe following suggestions may be helpful to add a personal touch to the funeral:
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