Humanist ceremonies

Just did a radio interview about baby-naming or welcoming ceremonies. Didn't get a chance to say a lot but was asked how much we charge. I said £130. One of the other contributors, a clergyman, said theirs are free. Of course they are - he's paid a salary by his church. We're self-employed. I asked the presenter, James Hazell, to point this out.

To hear the item, wait until the programme is available on Listen Again on the BBC website, and listen from about 11.45am.

To find out more, read about our ceremonies.

If you live in Suffolk or N E Essex, and you're interested in training as a celebrant, have you considered joining us? I ask, because I've just been talking to someone who didn't know about our training and went elsewhere for some, and only found out when it was too late. You can find out more about us on our ceremonies page.

In today's Guardian, Phil Hall writes about humanist funerals, and why he finds them much more satisfying than ...

... religious funerals, where a stranger usually officiates and witters on about heaven, often fail to commemorate a life well lived properly. Religious funerals can be a whimpering anti-climax.

He goes on,

In contrast, the humanist funerals in our family were completely satisfying and eclectic. They looked backwards and allowed us to see the lives of our loved ones clearly. We did not need to look forwards towards some sort of puzzling postscript. Perhaps the last thing people want after a death, during the messy form of group therapy that is a funeral, is for some sanctimonious stranger to stand up and start talking about a the afterlife.