Non-religious celebrants are leading more of England’s funerals
They could soon get the right to marry people, too
EVERY WEEK Alison Vallance goes to the funerals of people she has never met. She is a “civil celebrant”, paid by families to lead burial or cremation ceremonies in place of a vicar. Sometimes she delivers eulogies, drawing on interviews with family members. She says there is nothing gloomy about it, especially when celebrating a life well-lived. It takes skill to tell a stranger’s story that goes beyond a mere “list of dates and events”.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Match and dispatch”
Britain January 15th 2022
- Boris Johnson’s career of rule-breaking runs into crisis
- Expensive energy is baked into Britain’s future
- Omicron and the logic of testing
- Non-religious celebrants are leading more of England’s funerals
- Britain still has a few patches of rainforest, which need help
- Vanguard’s big push into financial advice
- What did you expect from Boris Johnson?
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