WEBVTT 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:31.729 When I go, I want to be remembered. 00:00:32.303 --> 00:00:35.008 A huge statue in the centre of town; 00:00:35.031 --> 00:00:37.893 Romario, the greatest actor who ever lived. 00:00:37.902 --> 00:00:40.185 How do you want to be remembered? 00:00:40.549 --> 00:00:44.680 Warmly, and as somebody who was kind. 00:00:44.996 --> 00:00:51.111 I would like to be remembered as something a bit more complex than just one story. 00:00:51.134 --> 00:00:54.411 I would like to be remembered for the things that I plan to do; 00:00:54.440 --> 00:00:57.626 I want to be a lawyer, and a successful lawyer, 00:00:57.659 --> 00:01:01.407 and hopefully I can inspire young females and to let them know to keep on going. 00:01:02.145 --> 00:01:04.118 Everyone has different dreams, 00:01:04.127 --> 00:01:06.502 and there's no knowing how the future will pan out. 00:01:06.848 --> 00:01:09.746 I can't say that I'll ever become a famous actor, 00:01:09.777 --> 00:01:11.331 although I'm trying my hardest. 00:01:11.407 --> 00:01:13.608 One thing we all know for certain however, 00:01:13.608 --> 00:01:16.469 is that life must come to an end. 00:01:18.942 --> 00:01:21.781 Death is such an important part of everyone's life, 00:01:21.788 --> 00:01:23.694 and every single religion and culture 00:01:23.702 --> 00:01:25.934 has some kind of ritual or ceremony 00:01:26.028 --> 00:01:28.477 that is performed when someone dies. 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:35.689 When my grandmother died last year in Jamaica, 00:01:35.848 --> 00:01:38.419 I flew over there to attend her Christian funeral. 00:01:39.043 --> 00:01:42.021 She was a very popular person, so a lot of people attended. 00:01:42.623 --> 00:01:43.992 I also read a poem, 00:01:44.051 --> 00:01:47.863 and although it was a sad moment for me, it was also very interesting. 00:01:48.065 --> 00:01:51.059 I'd like to speak to a vicar to find out more about funerals 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:52.695 and what it's all about. 00:01:58.243 --> 00:02:01.107 Within Christianity there are different streams - 00:02:01.204 --> 00:02:05.100 Roman Catholic, Protestant, even within Protestant there'll be 00:02:05.116 --> 00:02:08.250 the Church of England, there may be Baptist, Methodist, 00:02:08.277 --> 00:02:11.648 so lots of different traditions, lots of different churchmanship, 00:02:11.922 --> 00:02:16.139 but overall the beliefs are very, very similar if not the same, 00:02:16.361 --> 00:02:19.484 and therefore any funeral will have very similar components. 00:02:19.647 --> 00:02:23.001 Of course a funeral is not just about what happens on the day, 00:02:23.024 --> 00:02:25.213 or even after a person has died, 00:02:25.267 --> 00:02:30.103 so sometimes I will know beforehand that a person is really ill or really sick 00:02:30.429 --> 00:02:33.490 and the family may ask me to go and visit them 00:02:33.515 --> 00:02:35.500 to pray with them, to talk with them. 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:39.482 My grandmother was buried, but some people choose to be cremated, right? 00:02:39.532 --> 00:02:42.046 So one of the main decisions that the family will have to make 00:02:42.071 --> 00:02:45.401 is whether the person who died wanted to be buried, 00:02:45.424 --> 00:02:47.699 or they wanted to be cremated. 00:02:47.878 --> 00:02:51.222 If they're buried, we might have a funeral service at the church first, 00:02:51.318 --> 00:02:55.206 and then go to the graveyard, whether it's at a separate cemetery 00:02:55.221 --> 00:02:57.635 or within the church grounds, 00:02:57.666 --> 00:03:00.319 or whether they want to be cremated. 00:03:00.334 --> 00:03:03.662 If it's a cremation, we may have a service at the church first, 00:03:03.722 --> 00:03:05.603 and then go to a crematorium, 00:03:05.606 --> 00:03:07.976 or we may do the whole funeral at the crematorium, 00:03:08.104 --> 00:03:10.012 where the body is reduced to ashes. 00:03:11.774 --> 00:03:14.757 Organising a funeral sounds like hard work. 00:03:14.827 --> 00:03:17.353 I guess that's why people go to funeral directors 00:03:17.407 --> 00:03:19.070 to help them with the process. 00:03:20.290 --> 00:03:24.177 Funerals can be as simple or as elaborate as a family want, 00:03:24.218 --> 00:03:27.827 and we're there to help them express their wishes, 00:03:27.860 --> 00:03:30.117 what they feel is right for their loved one. 00:03:34.036 --> 00:03:36.209 This is our workshop where we make our coffins 00:03:36.216 --> 00:03:39.370 and they can be of a simple nature like this or more elaborate, 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:41.371 but we obviously make them in here. 00:03:44.893 --> 00:03:47.934 So this is a normal type of hearse that we use on funerals, 00:03:47.998 --> 00:03:53.108 and it's used to transport the coffin to the church or the crematorium. 00:03:53.287 --> 00:03:56.552 This is the Chapel of Rest where a loved one would rest 00:03:56.594 --> 00:03:59.202 and families would come in to see them if they wish. 00:04:00.726 --> 00:04:05.360 Being a funeral director is in one respect a very rewarding position. 00:04:05.549 --> 00:04:09.203 We look after families probably sometimes at their lowest in life, 00:04:09.219 --> 00:04:13.975 and when they come in to us, they come in needing that support. 00:04:16.217 --> 00:04:20.855 So what would normally happen is that the cars would arrive, 00:04:20.894 --> 00:04:23.364 and the family will then have decided 00:04:23.388 --> 00:04:26.496 whether they want to come in and have been sat first, 00:04:26.547 --> 00:04:28.939 or whether they'll want to follow the coffin in. 00:04:48.462 --> 00:04:53.678 The coffin will be brought in and set up at the front of the church. 00:05:01.522 --> 00:05:06.348 I'll then start by probably reading a few verses from the Bible, 00:05:06.513 --> 00:05:08.262 and then I'll welcome people 00:05:08.301 --> 00:05:11.459 and remind them that we've come together for three reasons: 00:05:11.467 --> 00:05:14.139 to celebrate and give thanks for the person's life; 00:05:14.577 --> 00:05:17.624 to say our goodbyes and to pray. 00:05:18.541 --> 00:05:22.623 I'll then start typically with a very general opening prayer. 00:05:23.198 --> 00:05:29.055 We may sing a hymn, or a chorus, or some sort of song requested by the family. 00:05:29.744 --> 00:05:33.754 Typically, we'll then have a eulogy or a tribute, 00:05:33.931 --> 00:05:36.450 and this is an opportunity just for 00:05:36.481 --> 00:05:39.580 some of the things about the person's life to be remembered. 00:05:39.697 --> 00:05:42.510 Sometimes, of course, depending on what the family would like to do, 00:05:42.527 --> 00:05:46.516 we may invite them to come up and stand around the coffin. 00:05:46.957 --> 00:05:51.956 Sometimes they'll want to lay a particular memento, or maybe flowers on the coffin, 00:05:52.076 --> 00:05:54.598 as part of their contribution, 00:05:55.035 --> 00:05:58.028 and then we'll come to the point of committal, 00:05:58.157 --> 00:06:01.663 and if it's a burial, that will take place at the grave side, 00:06:01.822 --> 00:06:03.858 where the coffin is lowered into the ground, 00:06:04.018 --> 00:06:10.228 and at a crematorium, then the curtains will be drawn around the coffin, 00:06:10.386 --> 00:06:12.748 and that's where I'll say the prayer of committal, 00:06:12.895 --> 00:06:14.167 and at that point, 00:06:14.234 --> 00:06:17.500 we're recognising that we're handing the person over to God, 00:06:18.043 --> 00:06:20.832 and we will say words akin to, 00:06:20.952 --> 00:06:25.370 Earth back to earth, dust back to dust, ashes back to ashes. 00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:31.366 But we do it in sure and certain hope of the resurrection, because of Jesus. 00:06:31.463 --> 00:06:35.364 Of course sometimes after the funeral, the family will want to get together, 00:06:35.470 --> 00:06:39.942 and so they may ask me to invite people back to a local pub or a hall 00:06:40.088 --> 00:06:42.683 where they'll have the opportunity to have some refreshments 00:06:42.790 --> 00:06:46.371 and just continue to remember how great the person was. 00:06:51.410 --> 00:06:53.352 In a way it's like a goodbye party, 00:06:53.406 --> 00:06:56.871 but Christians also believe that we'll meet the soul again in Heaven, 00:06:57.090 --> 00:07:00.430 so it's more a goodbye for now and not goodbye forever. 00:07:04.490 --> 00:07:07.397 Funerals are also about looking back at someone's life 00:07:07.397 --> 00:07:10.642 and celebrating their achievements and the kind of person they were. 00:07:10.650 --> 00:07:13.011 I guess I've realised that life is short 00:07:13.035 --> 00:07:14.778 and we should make the most of it. 00:07:15.065 --> 00:07:17.920 Above all, I want to be remembered as a good person, 00:07:17.928 --> 00:07:19.309 loved by many, 00:07:19.333 --> 00:07:22.209 that way I'll have a full house at my funeral, 00:07:22.797 --> 00:07:26.058 and maybe even a statue ... who knows?