Are you “spiritual but not religious”? Do traditional funerals leave you cold? Have you told your family not to have a funeral for you?
Funerals or memorial services may be about the person who died, but they are for the people who continue to live and need a ceremony to process their grief.
Avoiding holding a service often results in emotional trouble months later. However, a traditional “one-size-fits-all” service can leave bereaved families feeling just as emotionally unsatisfied.
Funeral Celebrants make all the difference when you want to create “A Good Goodbye”
What is a Funeral Celebrant?
A Celebrant is a person who is trained and certified to meet the needs of families during their time of loss. Celebrants provide personalized funeral services that reflect the personality and lifestyle of the deceased.
Why Do I Need a Certified Celebrant?
- A Celebrant offers an alternative to a service by a clergy person for those families not affiliated with a church or who do not wish to have a traditional religious funeral service.
- Celebrants are specifically trained to design a service that is completely personal, incorporating those unique stories, songs, and experiences that defined that person.
- Certified Celebrants have a library of resources available for readings, music, ceremonies, and personal touches.
- Certified Celebrants follow a Code of Ethics that ensures complete confidentiality in all dealings with the family.
How Do I Work With a Celebrant?
- The Celebrant will schedule a special meeting for your family to share memories, anecdotes and special moments in the loved one’s life. The essence of the service will be based upon the remembrances of the family. Participation by family and friends is encouraged.
- The Celebrant can serve at a funeral service, memorial service, graveside service, anniversary tribute, tree planting, bench dedication, or any other gathering designed to honor the deceased.
Who Certifies Celebrants?
The In-Sight Institute, which has certified more than 1,600 Celebrants in North America, provides the most comprehensive and sensitive training available. You and your family will be served by someone who understands the process and offers the very best services possible.
How Did Celebrants Start?
The use of Certified Celebrants originated in New Zealand and Australia, where 80% of the population chooses cremation and many people do not attend a church. Civil Celebrants, who are licensed by the government in those countries, perform over 50% of the funerals and weddings.
Doug Manning, one of the leading speakers and authors in the area of bereavement, toured these countries and brought the idea of Certified Funeral Celebrants to North America. He and Glenda Stansbury founded the In-Sight Institute to certify Celebrants across the U.S. and internationally.
How Many People Need Celebrants?
The 2010 American Religious Identification Survey estimated that approximately 15% of the American population do not attend religious services or consider themselves church affiliated. If you grouped all the identified “nones” into a state, it would be the second largest state in the union, right behind California.
What is the Cost?
Your Celebrant will spend approximately 10 hours preparing and conducting your service. Fees for Celebrants vary by market, generally from $200 to $800. Celebrant Gail Rubin’s professional fee is $450 plus New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax.
CLICK HERE to download a PDF with more information.
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Gail Rubin is author of A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die and The Family Plot Blog. She is a Funeral Celebrant certified by the In-Sight Institute and is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is available to do services throughout the metro area and beyond.
Call 505-265-7215 or email Gail@AGoodGoodbye.com to start the conversation.
