personal – soothing – uplifting
Carmen offers two types of funeral ceremonies: Civil and Spiritual
Civil Funerals
Civil funerals are non-religious funerals. They are life-centred funerals, celebrating and honouring a person's life, and focussed around a well-prepared and beautifully presented eulogy. Carmen spends time interviewing the family in order to write a caring and heartfelt life-story, telling the essence of the person's history, achievements and contributions, their relationships and their character and special qualities. Carmen helps the family select appropriate music, poetry, readings and symbols that have personal significance. We will honour the life of the departed, and say a beautiful farewell in a way that is meaningful for the family.
Often a family will choose to include a prayer in a civil funeral.
Carmen encourages the use of live musicians before and during the ceremony, as this greatly enhances the atmosphere. Carmen has a beautiful network of professional and sensitive musicians to draw upon, including harps, flutes, vocals and keyboards.
Spiritual Funerals
Spiritual funerals are appropriate where the family has some sort of belief about the soul or spirit, God or the afterlife, but not in a religious way. Carmen works with each family to clarify their beliefs and needs and work out how to best express those beliefs in the service.
Along with the eulogy as the centre-piece of the funeral, you may wish to include a spiritual element in the funeral. For example we can add special moments such as:
guided meditations
singing bowls
letting-go ritual
focus on forgiveness
acknowledging emotions
closing unfinished business
blessing the soul's continuing journey
some specially devised ritual or moment that we create together. You may wish to consider a Circle Ceremony where seating is arranged in a circle around the coffin and everyone is invited to speak. (There are venue and time considerations, as this is a longer service).
Since 1984 Carmen has helped many individuals and groups of people experience sacred moments through her words, her guided meditation commentaries, her deeply soothing voice and manner, and her commitment to bringing out the beauty and dignity of every individual.