Brookfield, Wis. – As families’ wishes continue to evolve, it is more important than ever for funeral directors to offer a variety of services to exceed their expectations. To help members meet the needs of families that are not affiliated with a particular religion or church, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) will partner with InSight Institute to host two Certified Celebrant Training seminars in 2017.
A certified celebrant works with the funeral director to provide families with a funeral, memorial service or tribute that is personalized and tailored to reflect the personality and lifestyle of the deceased.
Americans today are, generally speaking, less religious than they were in the past. According to Pew Research Center, in 2010, 16.4 percent of people said that they were unaffiliated with a particular faith tradition; that is expected to grow to 25.6 percent in 2050.
According to the 2017 NFDA Consumer Awareness & Preferences Report, 39.5 percent of people reported that religion was a “very important” component of a funeral, down from 49.5 percent five years ago.
With fewer families incorporating religious rites into funeral and memorial services, many funeral directors see certified celebrants as a way to meet the needs of non-religious families and those who may see themselves as spiritual but are not affiliated with a church or religion.
The Certified Celebrant Training seminars hosted by NFDA will be conducted by InSight Institute’s Glenda Stansbury MA, CFSP, and Doug Manning. In a creative and collaborative environment, attendees will develop such skills as:
- Articulating the Value of the Funeral
- Facilitating Family Meetings
- Using Music and Readings Resources
- Art of Ceremonial Writing
- Presentation Skills
- How to Serve as a Master of Ceremonies
- Developing the Celebrant Concept in the Community
- And much more
The seminars will be held:
- July 13-15 at NFDA headquarters in Brookfield, Wis.
- October 27-29 in Boston, Mass., as a 2017 NFDA International Convention & Expo pre-convention seminar
For more information or to register for an NFDA-hosted Certified Celebrant Training seminar, visit www.nfda.org/celebrant or call 800-228-6332.
NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 19,700 individual members who represent more than 10,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.
