Training to become a funeral celebrant with a diploma could be the best thing you ever did. This is such a wonderful and important role. And choosing the right training could be the most important decision you make.
To be able to help a family devise and deliver a personal funeral ceremony with heart and soul, that exactly meets their wishes and leaves them with good memories at a painful time, is a rare gift. It is also a fascinating, fulfilling and challenging role. If you think you could help people during one of the hardest weeks of their lives, listen well and give form to their ideas and feelings, help them to devise and organise a ceremony and hold that ceremony on the day, then come and train with us. Don’t worry, if you have the basic qualities of compassion, empathy and sensitivity, and a real interest in this, you can learn the skills you’ll need. That is what this training is for.
Paul Donne after his first funeral in June 2016: “Much praise, too, from the FD – he had snuck in at the back to see what this ‘new Celebrant’ would do – and he was delighted. So – again, thank you for all you have taught me. I am truly very, very grateful. You are amazing people and have instilled in me the faith that I really can do this work.”
This is a multifaceted role. We teach you to
- listen well and feel at ease with bereaved people
- write beautiful scripts, have a passion for words, poetry and music
- understand the importance of ritual and beauty in funerals
- lead a funeral with kindness, intimacy and gentle authority
- promote yourself to funeral directors and the public.
To acquire these skills we ask you to take your time, immerse yourself in our thorough training process, develop yourself in relation to your vision of being the best funeral celebrant you can be. It requires a lot from you, and in return we will support you all the way, and for as long as you need it. You become a member of the Green Fuse Funeral Celebrants’ community, so you never feel alone in the work. We think that is how to become a funeral celebrant.
The Diploma
This APT Accredited Level 3 Diploma begins with three days together, followed by a gap of three months in which assignments are completed, before the final two days and time to complete assignments. For most the course takes 6 months. We provide you with a full manual, feedback on assignments and email and phone supervision for your first five funerals. Each course is for a maximum of 8 participants.
The course covers all the information you need to know and includes visiting funeral venues, both traditional and less conventional. We also have an exciting team to bring you vital skills practice, including one-to-one work on voice projection and presentation skills with actor Pete Joscelyne, leading singing with musician and singer Basira Ward.
The main modules are:
- The history and social context of funerals
- Working with newly bereaved families
- Creating rituals
- Writing beautiful scripts
- Presence and presentation skills
- Marketing and business.