"We have no way of knowing that the funeral itself will be anodyne, a kind of narcotic regression in which we are wrapped in the care of others and the gravity and meaning of the occasion. Nor can we know ahead of the fact (and here lies the difference between grief as we imagine it and grief as it is) the unending absence that follows, the void, the very opposite of meaning, the relentless succession of moments during which we will confront the experience of meaninglessness itself."
Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
CIVIL CELEBRANT FUNERALS
Advice from the International College of Celebrancy (est. 1994)
see also: http://www.funeralsbycelebrants.com.au/html/civil_celebrant_funerals.html
In these pages we seek to persuade you that the celebrant is the person who specialises in your ceremony and that, in preparing a funeral, one must proceed with care. There are many who claim to be celebrants, who have no training, and who hardly know what they are doing. On the other hand, there are some wonderful celebrants, and we hope we can can help you connect with them.
In a very competitive marketplace the Funeral Director is anxious to get "the job" but, with some marvellous exceptions (very few) give the impression that they are interested in the ceremony, but actually are not. Outside their own fee, they go for the cheapest celebrant who passes muster.
The group associated with this website have fought very hard, against enormous odds, to establish a standard of preparation and delivery for Funeral Ceremonies which is consonant with a civilised culture.
You may be under pressure but we urge you not to be bulldozed by your own family or by a Funeral Director or by anyone, but to read these pages and get the picture before you make your decisions.
It may be that you are facing the sad task of organising, or preparing to organise, a funeral.
In the unfortunate event of a death, or an impending death in your family, we strongly urge you to RING YOUR CELEBRANT FIRST (i.e. not the Funeral Director). The reason for this is simple. The ceremony is the most important part of the funeral! The College trained or professional celebrant, under your instructions, prepares the ceremony. It is highly recommended that you ask the celebrant to ring the Funeral Director on your behalf - with your instructions. This empowers the celebrant to get it right for you and the person you loved. -- To find the right Funeral Celebrant you should first read "Choosing a Funeral Celebrant". -- Then go to our list - look for those who have a Diploma of Funeral Celebrancy, and who describe their work as funeral celebrants in a satisfactory way.
1. There are professional funeral celebrant specialists.
2. Those who want to do Funerals but do not necessarily have the ability or the training.
3. Those who prepare good funerals but do not seek them.
Great care must be taken as standards vary widely even in our own group of celebrants. In Victoria, where most Funeral Directors are ethical, you can often take the Funeral Director's recommendation. -- In States other than Victoria you should never take a Funeral Director's recommendation. Financial pressure means that many Funeral Directors push clergy onto people (low price, one service fits all) or very cheap "celebrants" (low price, one service, slightly altered, fits all) or pressure "the family" to flounder through the ceremony to make their invoice look less.
We strongly urge our constituency not to be intimidated into a Funeral Service which is badly or too quickly organised - resulting in the exacerbation of grief, and life time regret that this important ceremony was not done properly. Time is needed for preparation of the ceremony and for "the word to get around" - we recommend at least five working days.
Finally, please be aware that the only fair way to pay a Funeral Celebrant is by an hourly rate set by agreement between you and the celebrant (Funerals can take between 10 and 30 hours). Funeral Directors have no right to set the fee for Funeral Celebrants who are professionals in their own right.
Victoria
Guidance and
Enquiries:
Diane Storey - +61 417 106 275
Yvonne Werner - +61 411 128 285
ACT
Peter Downie - +61 414 428 021
NSW -
Victoria Spence - +61 431 123 129
Sarah Tolmie - +61 418 640 901
Queensland
Lois D'Arcy - +61 419 702 165