The funeral service is such an important occasion that it needs to be done with the utmost respect, dignity and empathy for the family. My services are not the morbid, traditional black suited sombre affairs that we tend to associate with some funeral services.
The funeral, when appropriate, needs to be a celebration of the life now past. A remembrance of the joyful times and reflection of association and impact that your loved one has left behind.
I have had over 20 years experience conducting funerals of all types and have a continued understanding of the needs of the family. I also have a degree (Bachelor of Applied Social Science) that covers counselling in loss, bereavement and recovery that enables me to have a more genuine compassion and understanding, along with my own personal experiences of loss.
I always design the service to suit the desires and beliefs of the family, making it culturally and spiritually appropriate to each family. I have a diploma in ministries and religious studies that has assisted my understanding and ability to appropriately respond to the beliefs or otherwise of the people whom I am assisting.
A funeral service has several significant purposes. First it is a memorial service. We are here to lay to rest the mortal body of the deceased.
Secondly it is a service of healing, to bring comfort to those who grieve the loss of a loved one. For some the healing is more rapid than for others.
The funeral service is designed so that the reality of death can be faced – the family and friends become a shield of love. It provides an atmosphere for grief and for loss. There is healing in faith, hope and love.
It is also a time to reflect on our own frailty of life and what lies beyond the grave for each of us. It is this knowledge and belief that can give us hope and comfort, for it need not be a message of despair, but one of encouragement and anticipation.
Allow me to help construct the service in the way that you and your loved one would want it as a fitting memorial. I will interview the family and gather the ideas that will enable me to take the worry out of how the service will run. I have never had a disappointed family yet in 20 years. All have been touched and blessed and assisted in the dignity and appropriateness of the service.
