Humanist Celebrants

It's a natural impulse to look for ritual and ceremony to mark important stages in life, and for nearly thirty years, humanist celebrants have been helping families whose lives don't involve religion to organise funerals, baby-namings and weddings (and now of course partnership ceremonies too) - which enable people to mark these occasions, together with friends and family, with sincerity.

Celebrants who have trained with the British Humanist Association, and are accredited by them, follow established guidelines and work to an agreed standard. They always visit their clients and together with them create a ceremony which is personal, dignified and relevant to them.

A few practicalities:

• Funerals can be arranged by phoning a celebrant directly or by telling the Funeral Director you would like a humanist funeral. (Celebrants can be found by contacting the Shropshire Humanist Group or from the British Humanist Association website).
• Humanist weddings are not at present legally binding, so couples usually visit the register office before or on the day of the ceremony.
• Humanist ceremonies can take place anywhere.
• There will be a preliminary meeting between the celebrant and the client(s), to share ideas and begin to shape the ceremony. After that meeting, the celebrant will write a script for the day, which may then be amended.
• Celebrants accredited by the British Humanist Association charge a fee which is within the range approved by the BHA, to whom they pay a levy on each ceremony.

The BHA publishes three booklets which are helpful for those considering such a course: Funerals Without God, Sharing the Future and New Arrivals. They all contain suggestions for wording and whole ceremonies to give you some ideas and can be obtained from the BHA website or by telephoning 020 7079 3580.