Brendan Riley
Community Celebrant
Croeso. Whether you are planning the joy of a wedding, or a baby-naming service, or whether it is time to say goodbye to a loved one with a funeral service to commemorate their life, I would be honoured to lead a service in the form and spirit that would feel right for you and your family
A Celebrant for Life
Secular Celebrancy, does that mean atheist services, like humanism?
Not quite. Humanism is a movement based on the atheist belief that there is no God. I am a Secular Celebrant. I am happy to use prayers, meditations from any spiritual tradition, or create with you a service with without religious symbolism. Many people now choose not to have a traditional religious or sectarian service for their loved one, but still request some spiritual content. It really is up to you, and I'll be honoured to help lead whatever form of goodbye feels right. It is your service.
About Me
I grew up knowing two places as home, a small fishing village in Northumberland and a village in the foot-hills of Conamara in the West of Ireland. Being bilingual in English and Irish, I feel a great appreciation for the rich diversities of culture here in London, that are all part of our amazing and vibrant city. I also speak several other languages, I am a keen walker, jogger, swimmer and rower. I have been a professional nurse for 30 years, working mainly with sick children, but I am also a poet, musician and have written articles and a book on Northumbrian dialect and culture. I became interested in celebrancy back in Newcastle when as a member of my own faith-community I was asked to be part of a team of lay service leaders as we were unable to find a full-time minister. That was ten years ago, and one way or another, I've been leading services ever since.
Baby-naming, weddings, funerals and other mile-stones
Modern celebrancy began some decades ago, in Australia, and was mainly limited to funerals. But now more and more people are turning to secular celebrants to lead services to mark the other great occasions of their lives. And I would be honoured to talk about ideas you may have to commemorate any of the milestones which are important in your life. Baby-namings do not have to be held in churches. Celebrating the union of two people in love, whatever their gender(s), does not have to be the bank-breaking, stressful tack-fest which weddings now sometimes become. And the death of a beloved pet does not have to be left without a proper service because that member of your family had fur or feathers instead of feet. For simple, dignified and meaningful funerals or rituals or services for the other milestones in your life, please feel welcome to contact me to arrange a free chat, with no commitment.
