Who to choose to take you service a Celebrant or a Humanist ?
A funeral celebrant provides funerals for people who do want a religious ceremony and those who have religious beliefs but do not want to be buried or cremated from a church or other religious building. People often choose civil celebrants because they want a professional person to co-create a service centered on the deceased person’s life but without any formal religious ceremony.
In celebrant ceremonies all decisions about the details of the ceremony are made by the family of the deceased in consultation with the celebrant. Celebrants often like to meet the family, prepare and check the eulogy, brief those giving reminiscences and provide resources and suggestions that will assist the family choose aspects of the ceremony such as the music, video and photo presentations, quotations and symbols. Celebrants work with funeral directors but are usually the principal officiant at the ceremony. The celebrants do not officiate from any doctrinal belief or unbelief on the principle that their own beliefs and values are not relevant.
A humanist funeral is a non-religious ceremony that focuses on the life the person has led, rather than a particular faith they may have had. Humanist funerals follow a similar structure as a religious funeral, with readings, music and eulogies, but without the mention of a God or faith. Non-religious funerals can still feel meaningful and comforting, whilst respecting the views of the person who has died.
If the person who has died wasn’t religious, then a humanist funeral might be the right choice. For many, it could feel hypocritical to have a religious ceremony if the person didn’t follow a faith. You might feel that a non-religious best reflects what they would have wanted.
The service at a humanist funeral is unique, as it doesn’t need to follow a strict order. This can be a more sentimental way to pay tribute to your loved one, with your own personal touches. The person who leads the funeral service is known as a humanist celebrant. The celebrant will meet the family before the funeral, in order to get to know them and understand their wishes. They’ll then write a fitting eulogy of the person who has died, that’ll be read at the funeral service.