About this episode

The episode explores humanist funerals and the role of a humanist celebrant in creating non-religious ceremonies.

Secular Funerals are on the table today! For the third episode of our Death Rituals Series, we are joined by Blake Hutchings. Blake Hutchings is a Humanist Celebrant accredited by Humanists UK. He creates non-religious ceremonies for weddings, funerals, and naming days, working closely with individuals and families to ensure each ceremony reflects their values, stories, and relationships. Outside of his celebrant work, he is a musician, an active participant in amateur theatre, a writer, and a father of two. Blake takes us behind the scenes of what it means to be a humanist celebrant - from the multi-stage training process to the emotional and practical realities of meeting with families, writing personalized tributes, and guiding people through one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives from a secular lens. The conversation offers insight into the inner-workings of a secular funeral and the ways we can honor, think about, and remember death both inside and outside of organized religion. At its heart, this conversation reflects on how working so closely with death often becomes an exercise in learning how to live. Blake and Ashley talk about grief, legacy, and the…

People in this episode

Host: Ashley

Guest: Blake Hutchings

Topics covered

• humanist funerals
• secular ceremonies
• grief
• mortality
• death rituals

Keywords

• humanist funerals
• secular
• ceremonies
• grief
• death
• legacy
• mortality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Humanists UK

More episodes of On the Table with Ashley

• Death Rituals Series: Chevra Kadisha with Gail Rubin · April 22, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Death Rituals Series: History of the American Funeral with Todd Harra · April 8, 2026 · 1h 5m
• Death Rituals Series: Everyday Death Rituals with John Troyer · March 25, 2026 · 1h 23m
• Death Rituals Series: The Art of Ashes Infused Tattoos with Bubblegum Ink · March 11, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Death Rituals: The Legacy of Olvera Street with Christina Mariscal Pasten · February 25, 2026 · 16 min
• Death Rituals Series: Funeral Decisions Every Family Should Talk About with Genevieve Keeney-Vazquez, Part 2 · January 28, 2026 · 58 min

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