Two weeks ago I told a man that he was dying…
Here’s the beginning of a brilliant post by an American doctor, Jordan Grumet, who blogs over at In My Humble Opinion. Do follow the link at the end and read the rest. Two weeks ago I told a man that he was dying. We sat together in the mid afternoon haze. Puffs of snow meandered […]
Unrecognised rituals
Posted by Gloria Mundi There’s been some very interesting stuff recently about the importance of ritual, and how we need to develop more ritual forms for secular funerals. Vide, for example, The extra-rational power of ritual I find it difficult to draw a line between “ritual” and “ceremony,” and maybe there is no satisfyingly sharp […]
Clergy: watch out for the mystery mourner!
From yesterday’s Independent: The Church of England is asking its followers to give feedback on funerals and christenings in a drive to make services more popular. The Archbishop’s Council has commissioned independent researchers to delve into how the Church ministers to its faithful at the key moments of birth and death. The research is partially […]
Quote of the day
“All doctors have the knowledge and – usually – the means to end their lives … and quite a few use this privilege, even if it doesn’t appear on their death certificates. Doctors are also more likely to have medical friends and relations prepared to assist if necessary. As a doctor, this is a great […]
All the world’s a stage
“A couple of parting thoughts on the development of new ritual for secular funerals before I switch off the computer for Christmas,” wrote our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson some days before the onset of festivities. Yikes, sorry, Richard; we lost that post in the tinsel. We’re not letting it go, though; your thoughts about […]
Love letter to self
The Co-operative Funeralcare has helped generations of families through difficult times, providing care support and reassurance when it matters most. The Co-operative Funeralcare has become the country’s leading funeral director because of the high quality of care we deliver through our people working at a local level, who are backed by resources and expertise that […]
Ashes
Ashes at the funeral home six hundred still to be collected small boxes, cardboard, filed in rows a kind of shell grit for the chickens fifteen years six hundred still that somehow somewhere should be scattered: sown like seed across a paddock thrown as gravel upon water or set there upon the mantelpiece and added […]
Obits with ah bits
If you’re the sort of person who likes to settle in front of the fire with a nice column of obits, there’re none we rate higher than those in the Times Colonist, in Canada. They’re not all brilliant, of course. But every so often you’ll encounter one which isn’t a catalogue of biographical facts that […]
A tale of two funerals
Over in Pyongyang mourners wail for the loss of the great leader Kim Jong Il. As Andrew McLaughlin puts it: This is really otherworldly. And terrifying. It’s depressing to be reminded that it’s possible, with energetic and relentless propaganda, surveillance, and oppression, to delude vast numbers of human beings into genuine feelings of attachment to, […]
Singer-songwriter-undertaker
A MUSIC-loving funeral director could soon be playing a key role in a national songwriting competition. Distinguished figures like Sir Terry Wogan, ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris and Johnnie Walker may be casting a critical ear over a song penned for charity by Neil Brunton – if he can secure enough online votes. Neil’s song, ‘Jacob Street’, […]
