Celebrants

March 24, 2008

In a nutshell, when you see that someone is a certified Celebrant, what that means is they have had specialized training in conducting memorial and funeral services.

I did this training and I can tell you that it is an in-depth and insightful study of how to be of maximum service and a conduit of healing for the family from the very first meeting. What is healing about this is the way information is gathered through the family meetings, the way the eulogy is written and the deliverance. All this is done by the same person and they spend anywhere from 5 to 15 hours working with you and on the entire service. Also know they act as a ‘funeral planner.’ They coordinate the service between the funeral home and your family, making sure all is in place.

They help you select music, figure out the ceremony, etc. They are a guide. They are definitely worth the extra cost. If you don’t have a religious affiliation with a church or you do but don’t have a relationship with the clergy, know you have options besides who is available at the funeral home. Funeral home directors are beginning to know about this and get trained in it as well. Ask if they have one.

When a funeral home does not have someone to do the service, what they do is hire a chaplain to do it. They have a list of pastors they hire for this purpose.

How much time have you ever known a chaplain (one you don’t know) to spend with you when planning a memorial service or funeral? How often have you sat in a service and it was evident the person was very unfamiliar with the deceased?

Unless you have a prior relationship with one, the Celebrant doesn’t know your loved one either of course. But the difference between a Celebrant service and most of the others that are being officiated by a stranger is like night and day. OK, I guess you can tell I have the utmost respect for Celebrants and the training they receive. And since any service is only as good as the person conducting it and organizing i

t, a Celebrant is a great person to get in contact with first.

If you are interested in training, there are 2 main places to get it. They are