Funerals Without God

by Jane Wynne Willson

The main purpose of this booklet is to help Humanists who are thinking of becoming officiants on a regular basis; and to help families and friends who are faced with the need to organize a ceremony themselves at short notice. A third group who may find parts of it useful are funeral directors coping with funerals where there is no officiant and the family has no wish to play an active role.The booklet aims to set out clearly the basic format of a Humanist ceremony, to suggest possible readings and turns of phrase, and to state simply the various practical measures that need to be taken. In short, it is a straightforward working manual. "[It was] the first funeral I had attended where I felt comfortable, and comfortedby the words spoken."" . . . it gave me a sense of great peace.""To hear others publicly proclaim their love, respect and admiration for myhusband made the funeral an uplifting experience. Afterwards so many who hadattended told me that it was the most interesting, most moving, most relevantand best funeral that they had ever been to. Their remarks gave me a greatdeal of comfort and I knew that I had treated my husband's atheism with therespect and dignity that it deserved.""A large number of those present, from a wide range of beliefs and backgrounds,later expressed what we can only call enthusiasm for an experience that wasnew to them, and in many cases compared very favourable with the often awkwardand impersonal alternatives with which they were familiar.""Bearing in mind that this is a form of ceremony which has not yet gained wideacceptance, we consider ourselves fortunate . . . to have received such expert andpersonal attention."

Genres: Atheism

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sounds strange to say that I "liked" this book. Better to say that it was helpful and useful.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUGGESTIONS FOR NONTHEISTIC FUNERALS AND MEMORIAL SERVICES

Author Jane Wynne Willson wrote in the first chapter of this 1990 booklet, "The main purpose of this booklet is twofold: to help Humanists who are thinking of becoming officiants on a regular basis; and to help families and friends who are faced with the need to organise a ceremony themselves at short notice... This booklet aims to set out clearly the basic format of a Humanist ceremony, to suggest possible readings and turns of phrase, and to state simply the various practical measures that need to be taken." (Pg. 6)

She suggests the following meditation: "We shall now observe a brief silence, and what I want you to do is to select a special, happy memory of [name] as you knew [her/him] and would like going on remembering [her/him]. Any of you who have a religious faith might like to use these moments for your own private prayer." (Pg. 29)

In cases of suicides, she offers, "When, as is often the case, the death has been of a young person in the prime of life, then it is harder to find things to say... You could stress the sensitivity of the young person, which made it impossible to cope with living in today's world, and emphasise all the worthwhile things he or she managed to achieve in such a short span. If it is possible to do so, make a point of mentioning the love and support of the family and friends, as they will inevitably be suffering a heavy load of guilt that they did not manage to prevent the suicide." (Pg. 55)

In the case of persons who essentially have no or few friends or family (e.g., elderly people in geriatric hospitals), she says, "With little or no information about such people's background, the officiant has no option but to compose a ceremony which largely consists of generalisations about life and death and the natural order to things, and play some music. The same unfortunately must apply when the family can find nothing positive to contribute about their elderly relative's life and personality." (Pg. 56)

This is an area in which there isn't a lot of other "material" (such also see Corliss Lamont's 'A Humanist Funeral Service'), so this little book is a very welcome contribution.

[Jenni Pertuset · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very brief and not very interesting (much like this review).