The elements included are the same as if we were in a crematoria. We still offer music as we arrive to the graveside. We welcome as we gather everyone around the space. And we remember with poems, tributes, readings and tributes. Nothing is eliminated just because we are outside.
The ceremony is led by your celebrant, and anyone else who is reading will do so from the graveside space.
We can include music to reflect, and also as we lower the coffin into the grave.
If the grave has been reopened, we will always acknowledge the family buried there, and if you wish, we can bless the grave with holy water, to set the space apart as sacred and special.
You will be encouraged to throw petals, flowers and soil if that is your families tradition. And if you want to fill in the grave, there are opportunities to do this, just ask the funeral director and they will arrange this for you.
At the end of the service, we leave with a sense of hope.
We haven't left your loved one behind - we take their memory with us in our hearts.
If you have chosen to have a farewell blessing, we send their soul into the hands of God and into the arms of their loved ones, and we continue to feel their love within us.