The Role of Funeral Clergy and Celebrants by Wendy Wortham Texas Twins Events
My role as a clergy person or a celebrant is to lead or officiate a ceremony, such as a funeral, wedding, baptism or other religious ceremony.
Clergy are ordained by a religious denomination or by an interfaith or spiritual religious group.
Celebrants differ from clergy in that most celebrants are not professionally affiliated with a religious or spiritual group. As an ordained Minister, I design funeral services that are personal, incorporating unique stories, songs, and experiences based on interviews with the departed’s family and friends.
Common expectations from me as a clergy and celebrant are to:
Meet with the family prior to the funeral service to learn about the person who has died and to offer support to the family. If I’m helping with the eulogy, I gather memories, anecdotes and defining moments in the loved ones life to prepare the eulogy.
Greeting the guests and family I always arrive early before guests or family arrive.
Stand out as an officiant, I always wear a special robe or stole to signify my role as a ceremony leader.
Assume leadership of the gathering, I stand in front of the gathering while welcoming folks to the ceremony.
Act as the master of ceremonies, I introduce the music and other people who provide readings or eulogies.
Close the gathering, I generally offer a poem or prayer to conclude the gathering.
Offer a sermon or eulogy, I will either offer a special message or sermon during the gathering and sometimes offer a chronology of the deceased.
A funeral director is NOT a clergy member nor a celebrant. It has come to my attention that many funeral homes use their own personnel to oversee a service. Sadly, these employees are not trained in comforting the family either through Scripture or celebrating the accomplishments of the deceased.
Funeral directors are business people, not ministers- often people consider them to be quasi-clergy. “Remember funeral homes are in the business to make money” Slocum quotes.
When choosing an officiant to oversee a funeral for a loved one, I suggest rather than using an assigned person from the funeral home- families seek out a responsible and recognized clergy person who is familiar with meeting the needs of the family.
I take my role in comforting families quite seriously and thought it might be a good idea to enlighten you of the mysteries surrounding funerals.
Families need to know that there are volunteer groups that can negotiate discounts. These affiliates of The Funeral Consumers Alliance may offer price surveys to assist with comparison shopping. And some states may offer price surveys to assist with comparison shopping for caskets, embalming and other needs as well as offering negotiated discounts with local funeral directors. These affiliates are listed on the alliances website, Funerals.org
I do help this article helps better understand the complexities involved with planning the funeral of your loved one.
Reverend Wendy Wortham
www.weddingbellsbywendy.com