Funeral celebrant Funeral celebrant Funeral celebrant is a formal term denoting members of a group of non-clergy professionals who are committed to preparing and delivering high quality funeral ceremonies, which are not closely linked to any religion or to belief in an after-life. The concept of funeral celebrants is analogous in Western countries to that of civil celebrants (for marriages). It began in Australia in 1975. On 19 July 1973 the Australian attorney-general Lionel Murphy had appointed civil marriage celebrants with the aim of creating ceremonies of substance and meaning for non-church people. As secular (civil) marriage ceremonies became accepted, first in
Celebrant (Australia) together, with the experiences of the past as a guide into the future. A wedding ceremony is a story which tells the past, proclaims the present, and blesses the future. Or in the words of Author and Celebrant Wendy Haynes: When it comes down to it, the jewel in the crown is the wedding ceremony... The purpose of the book is to inspire you, to give you ideas so you can shape the ceremony to fit your life and your commitment to each other. Lionel Murphy himself founded the first celebrant organisation on 3 May 1974. He called all the