Sometimes the person may not have been particularly religious but there is a wish to have some religious content. Civil funerals are able to include words and music of all kinds including a prayer or a hymn (or both) and by including a period of silence during which those who wish to pray may do so.
A civil funeral ceremony focuses on celebrating the life of the person who has died. It is created by a professional celebrant who will come and talk with you about the wide range of choices for content and the style of the ceremony.
Institute of Civil Funerals
Civil funeral celebrants belong to the Institute of Civil Funerals and a list of them and their contact details can be found on the institute's website:
The Institute of Civil Funerals
PO Box 160
St Neots
PE19 5WL
Tel: 0845 0048608
Email: info@iocf.org.uk
Website: http://www.iocf.org.uk/
The British Humanist Association
The BHA offers completely secular ceremonies conducted by their humanist officiants. The BHA has also published a booklet called ‘Funerals without God', for officiants and families wishing to conduct this type of ceremony themselves.
BHA
1 Gower Street, London, WC1E 6HD
T: 020 7079 3580
E: info@humanism.org.uk
W: http://www.humanism.org.uk/
In some areas, individual freelance celebrants, from either a religious or secular background, offer to conduct bespoke ceremonies. They advertise with funeral directors or in the press and some families may know of them by word of mouth.