Hi all,
Just wanted to share an experience I went through on thursday...
As previously mentioned on another post, i lost my father only 2 weeks ago and on the 23rd of January we held a humanist service at the crementoriums for him.
And I have to admit, I found a lot of peace and happiness from this.
The eulogy focused on the positives of his life and it was very upbeat, along with everyone being smart but casual attire in order to avoid the usual drab black that my father hated.
There was his favourite songs as oppose to hymns and a moment of reflection as oppose to prayer.
And I managed myself to somehow stand and make a speech of sorts where I talked about funny memories, in order to add more positivity and some humour, as was his and my own way.
It's nice to see that there is a genuine alternative to the horribly depressing usual religious services.
Has anyone else experienced a humanist service?
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I’ve attended several, Random. Each of them focused on lives well lived. Wonderful memories were the take aways and I celebrate that.
We had a non-religious service for my step-father. He never spoke about religion and never attended any church. He had been in India with the British army at the time of partition and had seen the depths of religion-inspired depravity between Hindus and Muslims.
I had the celebrant talk about his life without any prayers or hymns. For music, we had "The Lark Ascending" by Ralph Vaughan Williams as a tribute to the many years he spent out alone in the countryside as a fencing contractor.
For my mother we had no service at all. She thought funeral operators were a load of parasites. So we just talked about her life among ourselves at home.
No funerals, but I have, in the last few years, been to two completely secular weddings, which I have to admit, were a bit of a (pleasant) shock to me. Both were relatives on my wife's side, a niece and a nephew. Neither was announced that way in advance, and there was some dismay by some, but nothing overtly hostile.