John Porterfield Funeral Celebrant

04/04/2024

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cl4kkj5l07no

Please be aware! Scammers don't care about taking advantage of your grief. funeral directors will never ask for your bank details to pay to watch a webcast of a funeral service!!

Emma Johnstone says fraudsters attempted to steal money from mourners via a bogus live stream.

08/02/2024

27/09/2023

We’re pleased to reveal that we have been welcoming a very special guest to the A.W. Lymn business over recent weeks…

BBC presenter Stacey Dooley has been filming across our business with her team for a new documentary commissioned by BBC Factual, to uncover what goes on behind the scenes at a funeral directors.

The ground-breaking programme, called Stacey Dooley: Inside the Undertakers, sees Stacey spend around a week immersed in our family business facing her fear of death head on. She got involved in our day-to-day work to discover more about what we do – from arranging funerals to making coffins, learning more about embalming to carving elaborate headstones.

Stacey said: “Death is a topic that’s openly discussed in many other cultures, even celebrated in some instances, yet I am so awkwardly British about the whole thing.

“It is, of course, inevitable, and that’s why I wanted to really explore exactly what happens when we do die.

“This access allows us to ponder the bigger questions surrounding life, as well as witness the practical logistics of a funeral. I’d like to thank every family member who has allowed us to document their story. I’m so grateful.”

Look out for the documentary later this year on iPlayer - we can’t wait for you to see it and hear your feedback.

📷 credit Geoff Kirby Photography

30/08/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=601600652142544&id=100068778442147

ON THE DAY I DIE ...

On the day I die a lot will happen.
A lot will change.
The world will be busy.

On the day I die, all the important appointments I made will be left unattended.
The many plans I had yet to complete will remain forever undone.
The calendar that ruled so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me.

All the material things I so chased and guarded and treasured will be left in the hands of others to care for or to discard.
The words of my critics which so burdened me will cease to sting or capture anymore. They will be unable to touch me.

The arguments I believed I’d won here will not serve me or bring me any satisfaction or solace.

All my noisy incoming notifications and texts and calls will go unanswered. Their great urgency will be quieted.

My many nagging regrets will all be resigned to the past, where they should have always been anyway.
Every superficial worry about my body that I ever labored over; about my waistline or hairline or frown lines, will fade away.
My carefully crafted image, the one I worked so hard to shape for others here, will be left to them to complete anyway.
The sterling reputation I once struggled so greatly to maintain will be of little concern for me anymore.

All the small and large anxieties that stole sleep from me each night will be rendered powerless.
The deep and towering mysteries about life and death that so consumed my mind will finally be clarified in a way that they could never be before while I lived.
These things will certainly all be true on the day that I die.
Yet for as much as will happen on that day, one more thing that will happen.

On the day I die, the few people who really know and truly love me will grieve deeply.
They will feel a void.
They will feel cheated.
They will not feel ready.
They will feel as though a part of them has died as well.
And on that day, more than anything in the world they will want more time with me.
I know this from those I love and grieve over.
And so knowing this, while I am still alive I’ll try to remember that my time with them is finite and fleeting and so very precious—and I’ll do my best not to waste a second of it.

I’ll try not to squander a priceless moment worrying about all the other things that will happen on the day I die, because many of those things are either not my concern or beyond my control.
Friends, those other things have an insidious way of keeping you from living even as you live; vying for your attention, competing for your affections.
They rob you of the joy of this unrepeatable, uncontainable, ever-evaporating Now with those who love you and want only to share it with you.

Don’t miss the chance to dance with them while you can.
It’s easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die.
Don’t let your life be stolen every day by all that you believe matters, because on the day you die, much of it simply won’t.
Yes, you and I will die one day.

But before that day comes: let us live.

🖋Author|John Pavlovitz

🎨Artist|Bettina Baldassari

18/08/2023

I conducted a funeral service today, and the family asked for this poem to be included in the service. I’d never heard it before, but it made me think maybe we should all live our own lives the way we wantand stop doing things to conform to other peoples expectations. The poem is called warning and was written by Jenny Joseph.

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

04/05/2023

People often ask me how I can do the job that I do. Got this lovely email this morning from a Lady who lives in New Zealand. She watched the funeral service that I conducted for her late dad yesterday via the webcast service from the crematorium. Being able to help families celebrate the life of their loved one and provide some comfort at a difficult time - even if they are on the other side of the world - makes it all worthwhile.

"Thanks very much for conducting a really lovely service for our Dad. From start to finish your empathy and professionalism was apparent all the way to New Zealand! "

All the best wishes to you
Kindest regards
Audrey

19/04/2023

I was honoured to conduct the funeral service of a lovely lady who lived to the grand age of 103 yesterday. It’s difficult to tell the life story of someone who lived so long in just a few minutes. Her life spanned the reigns of 5 monarchs and there have been 27 prime ministers since she was born. How much the world has changed since she was a child, and how lucky were her family to have her for so long.

09/04/2023

05/02/2023

Help is out there when you need it- never be afraid to ask for it

Our online community is a supportive bereavement forum where you can share experiences and find others who understand, to help you through your grief.

22/02/2022

Everyone will have a friend or loved one that’s grieving at some time. Would you know how to help them?

Join a movement of kindness

17/12/2021

As a result of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, new measures to help combat the spread have been introduced by the Scottish Government. Following the government announcement and the advice of the Scottish Independent Celebrants Association, I will only be making home visits to arrange funeral services if they are absolutely necessary. If so, I will take a Lateral Flow Test on the morning of my visit, and will wear a face covering at all times during the visit. I would ask that everyone that will be attending the meeting does the same, unless they are exempt. The meeting room should also be well ventilated.
Hopefully, we will get back to a more normal way of working soon!

13/10/2021

I was really humbled by this lovely message received this morning from the partner of an amazing man whose funeral I led on Friday 8th October.

Hi John

I just wanted to say the biggest thank you for the service you led for James on Friday. It honestly went as well as I could have hoped for, you really were so warm and engaging, the words you chose were absolutely perfect and I felt supported throughout.
Thank you again. In the hardest of moments, you honestly gave the most touching send off for James. I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to lead this moment.

Best wishes,

Sarah