Head and shoulder photo of Morag. She smiles warmly at the camera. Morag wears a cream jumpers with a white collared blouse underneath. She has shoulder length dark blonde hair and wears glasses.

Meet the funeral celebrant: Morag Macintosh

Meet Morag, one of our new humanist funeral celebrants. Morag Macintosh is now a registered Humanist Society Scotland funeral celebrant and joins our dedicated team providing humanist funeral and memorial ceremonies for her community in the town of Alness, Scottish Highlands.

We caught up with Morag to get to know her a bit more and find out what humanism and being a humanist funeral celebrant means to her.

Hello and welcome Morag! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

Hi, I’m Morag and I live with my husband in Alness, a small town about 20 miles north of Inverness. I have two grown-up children, Sarah and Taylor, who live in the Central Belt. I spend a lot of time on the A9 travelling to visit them along with my grand-dog Buddy and my grand-cat Louie!

My interests include cooking, gardening and travelling. I plan to do lots of this as I retired in 2024 after 36 years in practice as a family lawyer with a large law firm in Inverness. During that time I helped and supported hundreds of families through the best and worst of times. I believe that kindness is an underrated virtue and that we should endeavour to be kinder to each other and our natural world. For me, the promotion and preservation of diversity and equality is fundamental. Everyone, regardless of their social, ethnic or cultural background, or their gender or sexual orientation, should enjoy the same rights and freedoms. These beliefs were a key driver in my decision to join Humanist Society Scotland and retrain as a humanist celebrant.

What does being a humanist funeral celebrant mean to you?

I have always been greatly interested in people and their stories. Being a humanist celebrant is an honour and privilege as well as a great responsibility. I believe the purpose of a funeral is twofold. Firstly, to acknowledge the loss of a loved one, the grief this brings and to say goodbye to them. It is also to celebrate and honour their life and achievements. A humanist funeral ceremony puts the deceased and their life story right at the heart of proceedings, which is exactly where they should be. Working with bereaved families to create a unique and person-centred celebration of life is hugely meaningful. It can hopefully make an extremely difficult time that little bit easier for everyone.

Why did you make the decision to become a humanist funeral celebrant?

I have always worked with families, often coming into contact with them at the best and worst of times. I would say that I am interested in people, finding out about them and their stories. My family might say that I’m nosy! Becoming a celebrant keeps me in touch with people and families. It allows me to continue to listen to people and their stories, to understand them and be part of their significant life events.

Illustrated graphic showing a family looking at a sunset across the sea.

These Are My Wishes

Have you thought about your own funeral or memorial and how you’d like to be remembered?

Ensure your life is celebrated the way you want it to be. Record your wishes today using our simple, online tool.

Get started

What do you hope to achieve in your role as funeral celebrant?

That’s a difficult question, as I am currently at the start of my celebrant journey. Hopefully I will feel as though I am making a useful contribution and providing a helpful service to families in their saddest times. If I can take a bit of weight from the family’s shoulders, by delivering a funeral ceremony in which people recognise the person they knew and loved and feel they have had the opportunity to celebrate them, that would be a good start.

How were you first introduced to humanism and what does it mean to you?

Like many people, I have always held what I now know to be humanist values: kindness, compassion, diversity, respect and equality. So I suppose I was already a humanist without realising it. Attending several humanist weddings and funerals over the years first introduced me to humanism as a world view. The more I read about it and what it represents, the more determined I became to pursue registration as a humanist celebrant as the next stage of my career.

Are there any particular poems or readings on the subject of loss or celebrating life which bring you comfort?

I am a big fan of Donna Ashworth. Her poem on love and loss called Love Came First really resonates with me. I’ve recently sent it to several friends who have lost loved ones and I think the words are just beautiful.

Finally, do you have a song that you would you like people to remember you by? If so, what is it and why?

I am a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen and love his song Born to Run. I would have that as my exit music as I find it uplifting. For me, it’s about joy, freedom and finally finding your place in the sun.