About Us
Non-religious funerals have become much more widespread in recent years and there have been other important changes in the way our society and culture approach death and dying. As independent funeral directors and celebrants, we are committed to giving families choice and encouragement to plan funerals in line with their own beliefs and values.
We believe there are many ways to hold a funeral service. Gone are the days when a funeral had to be taken by a church minister. We undertake religious and non-religious funerals and it is worth pointing out that many so-called non-religious funerals have a significant spiritual aspect but no particular religious affiliation.
We are three people from different professional backgrounds who have a shared interest in following a new approach to funerals. We like green and eco funerals but these are not the main reason why we formed Greenwood Funerals. Our priority is to listen carefully to what families want and help them make it happen whatever they have chosen. Offering a service to the community is as important to us as running a successful money making business.
We are Angela Ward, Peter Macfadyen and Charles Kemp.
Charles writes: I have lived in Frome for thirty years and for most of that time I have worked as a spiritual healer and counsellor. Ten years ago, I embarked on the training to become an Interfaith Minister and I was ordained in 2010. In my work I have encountered many different aspects of death and dying. Becoming more involved in non-religious funerals as a celebrant and then as a funeral director feels like a natural progression in my own life.
As I grow older myself and face my own mortality and as I continue to work in this field, I am learning to respect the enormity of death and the impact it has on people’s lives. Sometimes sad and deeply painful, it can also be transformative and uplifting. I see my role as being that of a person who offers a helping hand to those who are facing their own death or the death of someone with whom they have shared their lives. It can feel rather like being a gatekeeper who people encounter at a critical moment in their lives. My job is to support, guide and accompany them for a brief while on their journey through and beyond death.
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