Celebrating love - celebrating life

Creating Your Ceremony

A non-religious service often gives people the opportunity to connect with their deepest feelings about their loved one, and some say that it is the absence of religion that gives clarity. This absence does not necessarily mean the absence of ritual however, and it can be through ritual that we can get some of our most fundamental needs met, and none more so than in death.

HOW IT WORKS

A funeral service can be as formal or informal as you want it to be. There can be music, singing, speeches, poems, photo slideshows and videos of your loved one. I can support you with your decisions about ritual, such as the scattering of rosemary or flowers on the coffin if you have chosen burial; or surrounding the coffin with flowers and photos, or closing the curtains around the coffin if in the crematorium chapel.

Whatever you choose, I can advise you on the arrangements and lead the tributes on this very special day. Read more…

Memorials

Funerals in the time of Covid have left many people feeling incomplete: limited numbers of mourners have been allowed to services and seating has been socially distanced. Thankfully, things have changed, but you may feel that there is more you can do to mark the death and the life of your loved one. Read more…

About Ruth

“For me, it’s all about love.”

When I listen to the stories about your loved one, it is always with love; when everything else is stripped away, love is what shines through the often seemingly insurmountable, inexplicable death of your loved one.

I am a celebrant because of love and when I speak for you about your loved one on the hardest day of your life, it is with compassion, generosity and a great sense of privilege.

It’s more than a job: conducting funerals is my vocation. I was drawn to this line of work because of my own bereavements and my positive experiences of attending non-religious funerals. Read more…