End-of-life ceremonies

A funeral celebrant is someone who creates and conducts funeral ceremonies or services. In other words, they are the person at the front of the chapel, who has created the service, and either speaks on behalf of families, or supports them if they would like to speak of their loved one.  A Celebrant is one type of person who conducts funerals, others include:

Faith leaders
These people are usually associated with a specific faith or place of worship. They were historically the only people conducting funerals for many years.

Civil celebrants
People who conduct civil funerals are not affiliated to any organisation or part of any religion. They can perform services with no religious content at all, or with some religious elements, such as hymns or a prayer, if requested.

Humanist celebrants
Usually members of Humanists UK, they do not believe in an afterlife or a god, so Humanist ceremonies do not have any religious content whatsoever. They strongly advocate their Humanist principles and this often forms part of the ceremony.

You
If you have the relevant knowledge, feel able to put a service together yourself and can lead it in front of a group of family and friends, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do it yourself. However many people find that with the added emotional strain at this time, they prefer to be supported by someone else leading the service.