First impressions
By Richard Rawlinson You want celebrants to say good things well, but how do you want them to dress? If you’re opting for a civil funeral, do you want them business-like in a dark suit or to join in any sartorial theme requested by the departed? If you’re opting for a religious funeral, do you prefer […]
No stripping of the altars here
By Richard Rawlinson The row at Haycombe crematorium in Bath over the replacement of the cross-etched 1960s window with a clear pane – offering a neutral blank canvas for visitors of different faiths and none – is contextualised by this example of tolerance and diversity. The pictures here are of North London’s New Southgate Cemetery and Crematorium, […]
The changing face of Irish funerals
By Richard Rawlinson Dublin undertaker Massey Brothers is responding to the changing attitude to religion in Ireland by offering families non-denominational funerals, online advice and motorbike hearses. While these initiatives may no longer be especially novel in Britain, they’re causing a bit of a stir in Ireland’s conservative, competitive and often quite unsophisticated funeral industry. There […]
What the faith?
Posted by Reverend Noel Lockyer-Stevens, One Spirit Interfaith Minister Ed’s note: Noel is writing in response to Richard Rawlinson’s challenging post here. The undertaking of a funeral service is for me one of the most privileged roles I undertake within my ministry in Dorset. I am sure that every minister, ordinand and priest feels the […]
The order is rapidly fadin’
Blog reader Kathryn Edwards has drawn our attention to an interesting article in the Guardian. Thanks, Kathryn. In it, Rosanna Greenstreet tells how her aunt Molly donated her body for medical education or research, thereby denying everyone the benefit of a funeral. Greenstreet tells us what family and friends did instead: Molly didn’t believe in […]
What do Quakers and atheists have in common?
Posted by our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson You’d think Quakers and atheists were poles apart but I’ve been pondering a similarity. On the surface, Quaker funerals are very different from humanist funerals, and that’s aside from faith in God. The former involves silent reflection and prayer, the latter tends to be dominated by words and music […]
Religious funerals: why Jews bury their dead
Posted by our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson The first crematorium to be opened in London, in 1902, is directly opposite Golders Green Jewish Cemetery, opened in 1895. Apart from their Hoop Lane location, they share little in common. Traditional Jews, like traditional Christians and Muslims, believe in burial: and burial only in a Jewish cemetery, […]
Does this make the case for a secular funeral ritual?
Here’s an interesting and stimulating view of funerals from Guardian commenter Sussexperson: Each to their own, and all that, but there are serious flaws in the “capturing the person” style of funeral. I’ve been involved in a depressingly large number of those over recent years, so can speak from bitter experience. You don’t, as a […]
Quote of the day
One interesting fact I encounter is what constitutes a ‘religious funeral’. I have on a number of occasions met and prayed with distressed familes who have had humanist funerals because they thought that ‘non-religious’ meant C of E! Comment in the Guardian here.
Thank God for secularism
Posted by our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson RR writes: I had planned to discuss funerals in Islamic cultures, but concluded anyone interested could find such information elsewhere. See link to 10 Muslim Funeral Traditions here: Instead, I want to address concerns about Islam’s conflict with faith-tolerating, secular society. This is not about funerals per se, […]
