I've written this blog posting countless times now; it follows on from the "Funeral Arranging - Part 1", written on on Tuesday; a response to an article by Emma Freud that appeared in The Guardian newspaper. It is an article well worth a read.
Part 2 reflects on Emma's experience of creating the Order of Service. As a celebrant, my approach is to share some time with the family, listen to what they would like in terms of music, prayers, poems, etc and create a ceremony that is heartfelt and personal to them. Emma writes...
Emma writes: "This [the order of service] invariably becomes the emotional focus of the week. It needs to be a collective effort and is probably the moment when family tensions emerge in that lovely dysfunctional way that only a close death can inspire.
Well, yes and no. Yes, because even the most cohesive families can find stress lines appearing as they come to terms with the changed situation.
