Picaluna newsletter 21 December 2020

How long have you been funeral celebrant?  

Not long at all. I started training and doing funerals in June this year and in October this year, I did the Master Class in Ceremony with Zenith Virago of the Natural Death Care Centre. I have found the work and training very rewarding and feel that I will be forever developing and learning the craft. 

What was the main reason for you entering the funeral space? 

I have been a marriage celebrant since 2010 conducting weddings on weekends while also maintaining a busy corporate career. Over that decade I had the sadness and privilege of being with a very close friend at the end of her life and supporting other close friends who had lost sons in very tragic circumstances. My heart ached for them but through the sadness, I could also see how a good farewell through ceremony could help with the healing. That is what made me want to become a Funeral Celebrant and Director and in December 2019 I finished my corporate career so I could pursue Funeral Celebrancy and Directing as well as officiating at even more weddings.

What do you enjoy most about funeral celebrancy?
Sitting with families and hearing the stories about the person who has died is often very inspirational. Whether the person has been famous, talented, or just a great dad or mum, sibling or child, there are often lovely stories about how they helped or influenced others and while there is sadness, often I find myself laughing with family as they tell funny stories about their loved one. At the end of someone's life, family and friends are often focused on supporting each other and recalling and remembering the whole personality and journey of the person who has died. It helps me reflect on my life and those I love around me and to bring more to my work as a Funeral Celebrant and Director.

What does an ideal funeral ceremony look like to you? 

For me, an ideal funeral ceremony changes with every person who dies because we are all different and so a ceremony should change to suit the person who we are farewelling and their family. I believe that there is a tempo to a funeral ceremony and the ceremony is co-created with the family, not just owned by the Celebrant or Funeral Director. In the ceremony, I think it is important to address the death and the loss and that can be a very sad and low tempo part of the ceremony. However, by the end of the ceremony, there could be a feeling that we have served the deceased well with a good and personally appropriate farewell, and those attending may even feel rejuvenated and comforted by the ceremony. A good ceremony may achieve that through music, eulogy and tributes and recalling the happy times in the person's life and using some symbolic actions, such as drawing on the casket or placing farewell letters in it, to allow family and friends to be involved in the ceremony.