Finding the Right Words: Readings for a Funeral or Celebration of Life

When someone we love dies, it can feel impossible to sum them up in words. But sometimes, the right reading can help us say what’s in our hearts — to honour a life, bring comfort, or simply help everyone take a deep breath together.

As a funeral celebrant in Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire, Somerset and beyond, I help families not just with writing and delivering ceremonies — but with the little in-between bits too. That might mean guiding you through writing a eulogy, suggesting/helping with music, or helping choose a reading that reflects the person we’re celebrating.

Below are five funeral and celebration of life readings I’ve included in recent services at places like Westerleigh Crematorium and Woodlands Memorial Ground — where tears and laughter are always welcome in equal measure.

1. She Is Gone (He Is Gone) – David Harkins

You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has lived
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
Or you can be full of the love that you shared
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
You can remember her and only that she is gone
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Gone but not Forgotten – Ellen Brenneman

Don’t think of her/him as gone away
Her/ His journey’s just begun,
Life hold so many facets
This earth is only one.
Just think of her/him as resting
From the sorrows and the tears
In a place of warmth and comfort
Where there are no days and years.
Think how she/he must be wishing
That we could know today
How nothing but our sadness
Can really pass away.
And think of her/him as living
In the hearts of those she/he touched
For nothing is ever lost
And she/he was loved so much.

Memories In the Heart – Anon

Memories in the Heart Feel no guilt in laughter, she knows how much you care

Feel no sorrow in a smile that she’s not here to share.

You cannot grieve forever, she would not want you to

She’d hope that you can carry on, the way you always do

So talk about the good times and the ways you showed you cared

The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared

Let memories surround you.

A word someone may say

Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day

That brings her back as clearly as though she were still here

And fills you with the feelings that she is always near

For if you keep these moments, you will never be apart

And she will live forever locked safe within your heart

Death is Nothing At All - Henry Scott Holland

Death is Nothing At All Death is nothing at all.

I have only slipped away to the next room.

I am I and you are you.

Whatever we were to each other, That, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.

Speak to me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me.

Pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.

Let it be spoken without effect.

Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same that it ever was.

There is absolute unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you.

For an interval.

Somewhere. Very near. Just around the corner.

All is well.

The Life That I Have – Leo Marks

The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours.
The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours.

Let Me Help You Find the Words That Feel Right

As a funeral celebrant or celebrant for a celebration of life in Bristol, the South-West and beyond, I’m here to help guide you through all the details — the big stuff and the little stuff. From planning the flow of the ceremony to writing a eulogy or choosing the right music or poem, we’ll shape something that feels true to the person you’re honouring.

Every ceremony I lead is different designed for you and yours only - as it should be.

Let’s Talk

If you’re planning a funeral or celebration of life and would like some help, ideas, or simply someone to listen — I’m just a message away.

Get in touch with me here — and let’s make sure your loved one’s send-off is everything it should be.

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