The popularity of humanist funeral services is rising with a third more people in the North-East choosing them in the last three years. Anna Mason talks to Darlington celebrant Jan Mole about her involvement and the satisfaction her job brings.

SAD though she was to lose her mother, Jan Mole found herself comforted and uplifted by the humanist funeral the family arranged for her. So much so, that she decided she would like to train to be a celebrant.

“My mum wasn’t a churchgoer and she didn’t have religious affiliations, so we decided upon a humanist service,” she says. “Me and my brother spent a couple of hours with the celebrant just talking about mum’s life so the service focused on how much of a family person and how feisty she was, with uplifting poems and music we chose ourselves.

It was a lovely tribute to her and reflected the mum we knew and loved.”

After the service, Jan approached the celebrant, who worked for a group in the North-East, to investigate the possibility of training. She was considering retiring from her job as a primary school teacher, but wanted to continue working with the public, using her communication skills.

Now a member of the humanist organisation Tyne Tees Celebrants, Jan, from Darlington, is part of a 20- strong network, which conducts ceremonies and memorials in the region.

She undertakes an average of eight to ten funerals a month, as well as naming ceremonies – the nonreligious version of christenings – and civil partnerships.

“I did my training with Tyne Tees Celebrants and we work as a group, supporting each other and mentoring each others’ work,” she says.

While a lot of people are familiar with the word ‘Humanism’, many are unaware of what is actually involved.

According to the North East Humanists group, demand for non-religious ceremonies has grown by a third in the region in the last three years, to more than 2,000 in the last 12 months.

“Humanist ceremonies have been available for a long time, but people have become more aware of the options available in the last ten years,”

explains Jan. “There’s a huge number of people who do not subscribe to a religious belief and want a service for their loved one that they feel comfortable with.”

“In humanist funerals, we celebrate the life of the person who has died. We look at the extraordinary things a person may have done, but we also embrace and celebrate the everyday things, like their relationships with family and friends. There is definitely a huge demand for the celebration of life.”

Jan says there is also a lot of misunderstanding about humanism itself.

“Sometimes it is considered amoral; but this is not the case at all,” she says. “Even before I discovered humanist organisations I always thought that people without religious faith were perfectly able to live positive and moral lives; we all know right from wrong. Humanists believe strongly in personal responsibility and working for the common good. They embrace all sections of society.”

Jan says she became a member of the British Humanist Society because she could identify with their approach to life and felt they were doing a lot to raise awareness. She meets with North East Humanists on the third Thursday of every month in the Lit & Phil, in Newcastle, to discuss issues and listen to speakers.

Among the high-profile supporters is former agony aunt Claire Rayner. “I was a humanist without knowing it for many years before I found the Association and when I did, it was like finding a sort of home,” she says.

According to the BHA, religious people should find nothing offensive in a Humanist memorial ceremony.

For non-religious people, however, it offers a dignified alternative as well as capturing the life and personality of the person who has died.

“We listen to the family and find out what they would like,” says Jan.

“Every ceremony is individual and personalised and done with sensitivity, empathy and understanding.

We work closely with the funeral director and ceremonies can take place in crematoriums, cemeteries, or even individuals’ homes, indoor or outdoor.

“It’s a humbling and uplifting experience to meet with families and share their memories with them,”

says Jan. “I feel very privileged to be helping people at this particular time. It is hugely satisfying.”

■ More information about humanism can be found at northeast.humanists.net

■ For info about non-religious humanist funeral ceremonies visit tyneteescelebrants.co.uk

Holistic approach to health

SWINTON Park’s Spa and Treatment Rooms have launched a new Wellness Day, combining a holistic approach to health with a day of relaxation and detox. The day is ideal as a Christmas gift voucher, with dates running from New Year onwards, offering women time out to relax and enjoy the hotel facilities and also the opportunity to review their lifestyle and diet.

Guests attending the day will be able to enjoy the use of the hotel’s spa, with sauna, Jacuzzi and relaxation room, a half- hour detox massage, a mini manicure or pedicure, a consultation with nutritionalist Kate Chaytor-Norris and a cookery demonstration focusing on health and diet, followed by lunch served at the demonstration table.

Kate Chaytor-Norris specialises in women’s health and wellbeing, including hormone balancing and weight loss. The cookery courses will be run by the cookery school chef, Robert Taylor.

The day costs £90 per person.

Bookings can be made for groups and individuals, and the maximum number attending a day is eight. The Wellness Days will be running on Mondays on January 10, February 7, March 7, April 4, May 9 and June 13, with more dates to follow for the rest of the year.

■ To book, call Swinton Park on 01765-680900.

Why is the sky blue?

APOLL of more than 1,000 parents, conducted for Shell UK on the social networking site mumsnet, found that only a third of parents regularly talk to their children about how science works in everyday life, such as explaining why steam comes out of a boiling kettle, why a cruise ship carrying 400 people floats and why your hands and feet go wrinkly in the bath.

Nationally one in five parents are avoiding talking to their children about science, with a lack of confidence standing in the way of regular conversations with children about science. Reasons cited included feeling under-qualified due to poor grades at school, not understanding science and a lack of available information.

The research was commissioned by the Shell Education Service which has launched a free online booklet of kitchen-sink experiments for parents called Activate.

To download a free copy visit shell.co.uk/ses