my Role as your funeral celebrant
serving lydney, the forest of dean, gloucestershire and surrounding areas
If given the honour and privilege of assisting you at this difficult and sad time, I want to ensure that you and your family have the support and information you need to make the right choices and decisions.
When we are in shock or distressed or very upset the thought of planning and organising a funeral can be a daunting task. I can make that task a little easier for you and take away some of the pressure and worry.
Together, with family and friends, I can help you plan the important readings, the music and the tributes that will be meaningful, loving and heartfelt. You will create a funeral ceremony that reflects a person’s spirit, their unique qualities, their fundamental beliefs and is truly a special celebration of their life.
I will then lead the entire ceremony or, if your family and friends want to speak, I can step back and support them at all times.
Linda Audsley
Independent Funeral Celebrant
Serving Lydney, the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
and surrounding areas
One decision you need to make fairly quickly, is whether you want your loved one to be buried or cremated by flame. There are more ecologically friendly options being developed, although not available in the UK at the moment – compostation, water cremation or cryomation.*
Once you have decided what you want, together, we can then craft a meaningful and sensitive ceremony that is right for you and your loved one.
Contact me for more information
*AtPeace is not affiliated, nor recommends any of the above linked companies. The links are for information only.
Contemporary funeral ceremonies
Funeral ceremonies have become increasingly imaginative and unique, particularly those created by families or celebrants. Often people will hire the crematorium chapel for a double slot. Or hold the ceremony elsewhere. Perhaps with close family and friends accompanying the person to their final destination, afterwards.
This means that you can include anything within the ceremony as long as it is legal and meets with the health and safety regulations of the venue or site.
Chose the type of vehicle you would like the person to travel in: a motorcycle and sidecar, a horse and carriage, camper vans, landrovers or a traditional hearse. Will the mourners follow on motorbikes, bicycles, in tractors, on horses or trucks or vintage cars?
If you want the grandchildren to perform a little play during the ceremony, then why not? If you want them to ‘blow bubbles’ afterwards, that would be fine. Bring along the person’s surfboard, their battered sewing machine, that old gardening hat, their collection of dinky toys or shoes, a favourite guitar, fishing rods, bicycle, coal, football shirt, a jumper, a badge, a scarf, their walking stick. or whatever they might be associated with, then go for it and make the funeral special.
You could hire a local choir, ceilidh band, harpist or singer to play inside or outside the chapel. Or perhaps they belonged to the local tai chi class, zumba or dance group. Perhaps they could perform in honour of the person.
When people leave the ceremony you might give them something to remember the person by: (sanitised) small packets of the person’s favourite sweets, memorial tree seedlings to plant in their honour, specially printed guitar plectrums, memorial match boxes, customised wrist bands, memorial magnets, special coins, tea infusers, badges, bookmarks, temporary tattoos… the list is endless.
We are only limited by our imagination when we want to say a special ‘goodbye’ to our loved one and our imaginations can be limitless.
“The song is ended but the melody lingers on” Irving Berlin
For more information
Please contact me and I will be happy to answer your questions and find out if I can be of help.
