So how do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral? A funeral is unique. Each funeral like every one of us should be handled differently and uniquely. Your expectations, wants and ‘must haves’ in a funeral service will, or could be different to others. The route to finding a good Funeral Celebrant are many. After all, it’s not a thing you embark on every day or every week.
“But I do not know what I want, I don’t even know how to start this conversation”
Like a road map, starting from home (point ‘A‘) you need to get to your destination (point ‘C’). To get there you may need to pass through one or more places before arriving.
There are two-sides to this approach. Direct and indirect.
How do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral? Indirect – The Funeral Director
If you approach or visit a Funeral Director, they will have a list of Funeral Celebrants they use on a regular basis. It may be 2, 3 or just few more. It will not be extensive or vast. They will select for you a person whom they think you will be the ‘best fit’ or get-on with. More-then-likely you won’t know them, so generally people accept the Funeral Director’s suggestion. Approximately eight out of ten Celebrants are female in the UK (depending on locality).
How do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral? Direct
This can take a number of forms. Either ask a friend, relative or colleague of whom they or their family have used in the past. It is not always a good indication as they (largely) will never say he or she were terrible or poor. Some may, but on the whole, most people will not be so open.
If you have been to a funeral and seen a great Celebrant deliver a good service – find out who they are – ask the family, the Funeral Director or their name may be printed in the Order of Service booklet.
How do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral? Search the Internet.
Try and avoid ‘Directories’ or Organization’s List of Celebrants they have trained or have been through their (paid) course. They are businesses and accept ‘adverts’ from celebrants to promote themselves. Looks aren’t everything. Beware - their photograph may not look like how they do in real life!
Use a search engine to find a Celebrant close to you. Read their website and get a feel for ‘who they are’. Do you think they are sincere? Are you reading just marketing blurb on their site? Have they real testimonials on their site? Or is it a paragraph written by Mrs. B or Mr Q? It is estimated 30% (one-third) of all testimonials are fake on the Internet [1].
What information do they have on their website – is it good and relevant to you? For example, about the Crematorium you are going to use.
How do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral? The next thing to do is call them.
Have a list of questions you would like to be answered, for example.
- How long have you been a Celebrant?
- How many services have you conducted?
- What is your background?
- How and why did you become a Funeral Celebrant?
- How do you create and write a service – for me?
- Will you personally visit and talk with me and my family?
- What services do you conduct? (Cremations, scattering of Ashes, Natural Burials and so forth)
- What are your charges?
And so on and so forth. The questions should be relevant to you and your needs.
From asking questions you will be able to gauge who they are and if the fit between you and them is good or not. Gauge whether they just want to get off the phone quickly or want to really help you and spend time with you answering your questions. Do they avoid answering a question of yours or going round-the-houses? Are all their contact details on their website – or is it just an online ‘Form’ to fill-in or perhaps a mobile number?
Some Questions the Funeral Celebrant will ask
To determine whether you turn left, right or go straight-on from your home heading for your destination (metaphorically…), a Funeral Celebrant will initially talk or ask about the three service types typically available:
Religious (with payers, hymns, readings) with or without a Minister?
A second is a service with some religious elements, such as just the Lord’s Prayer or a reading.
The third is a service with no religious elements what-so-ever. A Humanist service.
We are getting closer to answering the question: How do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral?
During our daily lives, we gain experiences, knowledge, and the ability to know how to handle various situations we come across. A Funeral Celebrant will have these experiences too and be able to offer various approaches to delivering a funeral service you would like.
If you have time, have a read of the long article on the Final Fling website about Ken West; titled, ‘Celebrants in the UK’ – a fascinating insight to the fall of the established Church and the rise of the Celebrant. A detailed analysis. It is not all rosy and Celebrant orientated. Ken has a ‘warts and all’ approach and writes clearly and openly.
Evaluate potential celebrants and make a decision.
There are now twelve Celebrant training organizations and companies (and many smaller ones acting locally and low key on the Internet). Since the Pandemic there has been almost an exponential rise in the numbers of people paying their money and ‘going on a course’ to become a Funeral Celebrant. This is not a negative thing as it sorts out the good from the ‘opportunist’. Many aspiring Funeral Celebrants ‘give it a go’ only to leave less than a year later. The costs for becoming a Funeral Celebrant range from around £1,300 to around £3,000.
What does the Funeral Celebrant offer?
How do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral can be easy or difficult depending on what you want.
Why do you want one? If a loved one has just passed away, you may wish a Funeral Celebrant to conduct the imminent service. This is what the vast majority of Funeral Celebrants do. However, some offer a more encompassing service to their families.
Pre-Need Direct and Crematorium cremations plans are becoming popular – as they can save a lot of money for those left behind who have to pay the invoice. As a result, a very few Funeral Celebrants are offering Pre-Need facilities.
Organization of your funeral
This can come in many forms. Like Probate and all the administration an Executor needs to sort out, a Funeral Celebrant can help you prior to your death with the organization of your funeral and arrangements. This not only allows you to have what you want (at your funeral), but also to be organized and have everything in place for that eventual day.
When people tell me, “Margaret was so well organized, she had everything planned and sorted before she died.” This is not strictly true. She may have indicated some tunes she would like played and a reading or poem at her service, but generally that is the extent of things.
Margaret did not know of:
- The strict times a Crematorium (for example) impose.
- The hefty fines imposed by Crematoria for over-running (amongst other things).
- The service time versus the allotted time.
- The organization of the practicalities of a funeral service.
- The Eulogy – it is not a chronological order of what she did in her life (her CV) – it is far more than that with stories, anecdotes, tales, snippets of ‘who she was’ and much, much more. All this needs to be organized and organized well to give respect, justice, and the true essence of – you.
- The Order of Service – generally a printed booklet with the service order outlined along with poems, music, Tributes and so forth. Not a legal document, but a keepsake for generations to come to read about Margaret. Getting it right is important.
Once a Funeral Celebrant receives a call from a Funeral Director asking if he/she can conduct a service, it is unfair to say it is, ‘too late’. But by some pre-thought by forward looking people, all the uncertainty or guesswork can be totally avoided from many funeral services we as Funeral Celebrants come across on a daily basis.
So how do I find a Celebrant for a Funeral does not have to be difficult or hard.
SOURCES
- How to spot a fake review. https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/online-shopping/article/online-shopping/how-to-spot-a-fake-review-aiDaS3e1ivfr
- Final Fling.http://blog.finalfling.com/celebrants-in-the-uk/