Working with Poetic ENdings as a funeral celebrant
Sophie Duval, celebrant
All the work we do at Poetic Endings is based on the belief that a good funeral can be profound and transformational in helping bereaved people to acknowledge and accept the fact that someone has died. We believe that funerals really matter.
Some funeral directors show less interest in ceremony, prioritising the less emotional aspects of a funeral. But times are changing, and Poetic Endings is at the forefront of creating a new way of doing funerals that's highly personalised, helpful, meaningful, relevant and serves its purpose.
We love to work with resourceful, open-minded, flexible, creative and emotionally intelligent celebrants who understand the power of ceremony.
Our promise to the celebrants we work with:
We will:
... genuinely get to know you and the way you work so we can match you with our clients.
... pay fairly. We believe that good celebrants have been badly paid and undervalued for far too long. We want to support the absolute best people in the profession to be fairly rewarded for doing this complex and difficult work.
... never book single services at crematoria for families who clearly need time and space for the funeral ceremony.
... offer continuous professional development by inviting you to join our team as a funeral assistant - so you can be exposed to different types of ceremony and gain valuable experience in other areas.
… work flexibly and sensitively alongside you to make sure the funeral ceremony is right.
… support you in putting together the ceremony and facilitating it on the day of the funeral - no matter how simple, complicated or it is.
We value:
Emotional intelligence
An understanding that the work we’re doing is ground-breaking and that we can not do it alone
A desire to be involved in what can be difficult but profound and transformational work
Creativity
Kindness
Sensitivity
An interest in the bigger picture of funerals
A flexible and open-minded attitude
Life experience
A way with words and an ability to deliver truly beautiful ceremonies, whether simple or highly personalised, but never templated
An understanding of professional boundaries
Smart appearance
The Celebrant Accord
The Funeral Celebrancy Council is committed to setting standards for excellence in celebrancy so has created two checklists to assist funeral directors and members of the public when working with celebrants.
They are for use by both funeral professionals and celebrants to improve working relationships and promote best practice. Working with Celebrants: Points for Excellence has been developed alongside the Funeral Celebrant Accord.
While not intended to be exhaustive, the lists provide a means of achieving measurable insight into the abilities and calibre of each individual celebrant, enabling any issues to be identified and discussed. As of June 2019, we’re delighted to have adopted the Accord as part of our commitment to working with the UK’s best funeral celebrants.
So you want to work with us?
We work with a select number of celebrants who we have chosen for their professionalism, creativity, sensitivity and flexibility. At the present time, our directory is full and we’re not looking to take on any new celebrants. However, if you have something different or exceptional to offer, please email us at funerals@poetic-endings.com answering the questions below.
Why did you become a celebrant?
Who did you train with? What did you think of your training?
What do you think makes a good celebrant?
Share your favourite poem with us.
IMPORTANT - We are overwhelmed with applications from new celebrants and sadly can’t meet with everyone who contacts us. We’re often supporting families at funerals or at the funeral home, so please do not visit unless we’ve arranged to meet with you in advance.
A NOTE TO POTENTIAL CELEBRANTS - Please think very carefully before embarking on a career as a celebrant. The market is over-saturated with celebrants and work is limited. Talk to your training provider about the reality of the work available before you commit to a training course.