Crematoria to broadcast special service for Father’s Day
Westerleigh Group is following its successful streaming of a special service for Mother’s Day in March by broadcasting a similar tribute for Father’s Day on Sunday 20 June.
Westerleigh Group is the UK’s largest owner-operator of crematoria and ceremonies, with 35 sites in England, Wales and Scotland.
The Father’s Day service can be viewed on Westerleigh Group’s YouTube channel, which can be found through the websites of North Wiltshire, Sedgemoor, Test Valley, Torbay, Treswithian Downs, Wessex Vale, West Wiltshire and Westerleigh crematoria.
Westerleigh Group invested in improving the streaming capability during the pandemic because of the strict limits on the numbers of people who were able to attend ceremonies in person and has used the technology to webcast several special services over the past year.
Over the Christmas period, around 11,000 people viewed festive services of remembrance and the group followed it up with a special broadcast on Mother’s Day.
It is hoped families will want to go online once again to watch the Father’s Day service on 20 June, which will be broadcast from Royal Vale Crematorium in Cheshire and will include readings and music.
Roger Mclaughlan, chief executive officer of Westerleigh Group, said: “Some lockdown restrictions remain in place, so we felt that holding a national event would allow families to remember fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers and father figures wherever they may be in England, Scotland and Wales.
“We would really like local communities to get involved in the service, so we are inviting families to submit three words which remind them of their fathers.
“We are going to compile all the submissions into a word cloud which will be revealed at the end of the Father’s Day broadcast.
“Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day can be a poignant time for those who have lost loved ones.
“We are streaming this service to bring some comfort to people and to enable them to feel that they are remembering their lost loved ones in a special way, despite the lockdown restrictions.”
The service will be shown on Sunday 20 June at 11am and can be found by visiting the news section of Westerleigh Group crematoria websites:
www.northwiltshirecrematorium.co.uk
www.testvalleycrematorium.co.uk
www.treswithiandownscrem.co.uk
www.wessexvalecrematorium.co.uk
It will also be available to view afterwards on the Westerleigh Group’s YouTube channel.
Anyone who wants to contribute three words for inclusion in the cloud at the end of the broadcast should submit them to https://bit.ly/3iaaBbw by Wednesday 16 June.