Celebrancy

… to these pages about my funeral celebrancy. My name is Ian White and this site is designed to give you a flavour of the kind of funeral work I do.

What inspires me?

My driving ambition is to help individuals and families (possibly you) through the heart-rending task of saying goodbye to a person you love dearly. The death of someone near to us is always a distressing time and my vision is to help people navigate this difficult period.

My desire is borne out of some tragic personal events. Toughest of these was when my wife and I lost our 22 year old daughter and we shouldered the responsibility of organising commemorative events while grieving ourselves. It’s also motivated by professional experience. As a Baptist Minister I have had the privilege of crafting literally hundreds of funerals and commemorative events to celebrate, reflect and bring hope. As best I can, I’d like to bring these realities into your loss.

Incidentally, I can act as your celebrant. You don’t have to be religious or have any church affiliation for us to work together. I work with people across all denominations and those who don’t align themselves with any of these streams.

The atmosphere

If we work together I will be keen to create an atmosphere in your celebration service that reflects the character, loves and achievements of person you’re saying farewell to. We will want to honour them as a valued person, tell some of the stories we remember them by, and give thanks to God for their life. And the occasional dash of humour rarely goes amiss.

What is a Christian celebrant?

A Christian celebrant is one who works with you to create a funeral or event to celebrate the life of someone you have loved, and is motivated by Christian concern and compassion. It also means that we can optionally include some prayers or Bible readings that bring hope that this life is not the end of it all (some celebrants are uncomfortable with this). It’s your choice.

You don’t have to be a Christian or have church connections for us to work together – nor does your loved one who has passed away. Each service is individually designed to honour the person who has died, reflecting their unique character and the precious memories of the family who are mourning their loss.

If you want to read more about my personal ethics and beliefs you can go here.

What happens first?

First of all we need to talk. If you simply want to enquire, I am happy to talk with you without any commitment on either side about working together. You probably have questions you want answered and an initial chat on the phone is a good place to start.

Now let me walk you through what we might do together …