What is a Funeral Celebrant?
What is a Funeral Celebrant?
I have spoken to a number of friends and others about this, many have not even heard of the name Funeral Celebrant. The name originated in Australia in 1975 and has spread to other Countries of the World.
For the history go to - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_celebrant This is an excellent resource for how this aspect of the Funeral Industry has developed.
Independent Funeral Celebrants come from all walks of life. In the UK the majority will plan Funeral Ceremonies which incorporate religious aspects, non-religious or a mixture. Most do not come with agenda of their own. Some though will only do non-religious so you may not even get a hymn or prayer if that is what you want.
The only aim of a Funeral Celebrant should be to plan a fitting Funeral Ceremony that reflects the beliefs, character, and values of the deceased.
A Funeral Celebrant will be able to officiate at and internments. They are able to lead/officiate at Wakes, Memorial/Thanksgiving Services at a venue of your choosing. Many will spend hours on planning (after visiting), writing and then leading a high-quality funeral ceremony that is memorable.
A good Funeral Celebrant will interviewer, someone with empathy, ideally, someone who has experienced grief and loss, a public speaker with experience, a facilitator and more.
What does a Funeral Celebrant do?
The best Funeral Celebrants will not produce a set Ceremony that just gets repeated again and again and will not include their own views or beliefs.
- Time will be given in visiting* to learn about the life of the person.
- Hours will be spent putting together this information which will include - Songs/Music/ Hymns, Readings/Poems, tributes/eulogies, fitting committal/farewell and more.
- An order of Service will be put together for approval so the family/funeral director can
- A draft tribute/eulogy/ memories of ... will be sent (if family members/friends do not wish to do this) to the family/executor for any corrections/additions/changes.
- will happen with others who plan to bring tributes, readings, poems etc to ensure timing, especially at a Crematorium, is adhered to.
- & more.
Preparing unique and memorable Funeral Ceremony is what a dedicated Funeral Celebrant will do.
All Celebrants who take this seriously will have undergone training which they will have paid for with is much like a to true Funeral Celebrants.
In not using a one size fits all a Funeral Celebrant (who won’t get rich by this) can only manage a few a week to deliver these tailor-made ceremonies.
Some recent comments received from those who have used Bespoke Funeral Ceremonies
“Wow - Thank you so much”
“He would have loved that”
“Brilliant- We’ll be using you again”
“It was a beautiful service”
“Was a lovely service and so right for ......”
“You must have put a lot of time into that”
“That wasn’t half bad”
"The ceremony for .... was lovely and we had such positive feedback from those who attended"
Bespoke Funeral Ceremonies operates mainly in Hampshire, UK but will travel further afield by request.
- Distance difficulties in the planning can be overcome by Skype and email.
Contact can be made via the website or ringing +44 (0)2381 781 395
? Bespoke Funeral Ceremonies.com 2017 Author: - Peter J Armstrong