What on Earth is a celebrant? I’ve heard this soooooo many times!! I’ve also been called a celibate!! Which is different story entirely!! So, I am going to tell you what on earth a celebrant really is. And what a celebrant does. Here we go then.
A bit of personal history. In the midst of the first 2020 Covid 19 lockdown, my Mum attended a funeral. It was done at the graveside, and officiated by a (in her words) humanist celebrant. What’s that, I asked in interest. “Well, there was no religion, and it was really nice”, she replied. Just a few short months later, we unexpectedly lost my dear Dad. He was not a religious man, not by any means, so my Mum and I asked the Funeral Director about using a celebrant for his service. And that was my first experience of a funeral celebrant. In fact, it was that day that I was inspired to train as a celebrant myself, but that’s another tale.
I started to research the role of celebrants prior to my training, and learned that broadly speaking they fall into one of two categories, Humanist or Independent. Humanism is a belief system all of it’s own. Humanists do not believe in a god. They believe it is possible to live a good and fulfilling life without following a traditional religion. They do not follow a holy book either, valuing traits like reason and relying on science to explain the way things are. Humanists believe that people have one life to live – there is no afterlife. As a result they focus on being happy and making the most of their life. They also believe they have a duty to support others.
So, with this in mind, it is not surprising to learn that a humanist celebrant provides an alternative to religious ceremonies for people wishing to celebrate or commemorate key life events — such as weddings, namings, and funerals — in a non-religious way. In this country, he or she will be a member of Humanists UK and will have been trained in celebrancy by this organisation.
Independent celebrants also write and deliver key life ceremonies but without that restriction – yes, most of our ceremonies are non- religious, but, should someone want a hymn or prayer included that’s fine, we can do that. I strongly suspect that the funeral my mother attended back in 2020 was in fact officiated by an independent celebrant, with no reference to religion made.
Although I personally identify with humanism, I am an independent celebrant. Why? Because I respect all faiths and am happy to accommodate all. Just because someone has decided on a celebrant led funeral for their loved one does not mean they can’t have any religious content, as long as the celebrant is an independent, of course they can.
Celebrants write life stories and then bring those words to life. Celebrants create celebrations. Celebrations of Life, Celebrations of Love. Rites of passage – naming ceremonies, weddings, vow renewals, funerals, coming of age ceremonies. If it is worth celebrating, then any celebrant worth her salt will facilitate that.
It’s what we do.
So now you can answer the question, what on earth is a celebrant? Now you know.
Let me help you to create the perfect celebration. Pop over to my contact page, and let’s chat.
https://celebrantsuzi.co.uk/contact/
No pressure.
