Celebrants

A certified celebrant assists you in finding words when they are most important. Our skilled and certified staff at Schlitzer Allen Pugh Funeral Home specializes in designing and conducting customized ceremonies that accurately capture your loved one's distinct life, personality, and legacy.

 Celebrant-led ceremonies are completely designed around the person being honored, in contrast to traditional religious services. A celebrant works closely with you to collect memories, stories, and significant details that highlight your loved one's life, regardless of whether your family is nonreligious, spiritual but not affiliated, or just wants a more customized tribute. The outcome is a moving ceremony that honors their identity and the influence they had on everyone in their vicinity. It was thoughtfully planned and warmly delivered.

 Celebrant services offer your family total freedom to design a tribute that is as distinctive as the person you are honoring. They can be used independently or in conjunction with religious components.

What is a Celebrant?

A Celebrant is a person who is trained and certified to meet the needs of families during their time of loss. A Celebrant creates a personalized tribute service to reflect the personality and life-style of the deceased.

What does a Certified Celebrant offer the family?

• Our Celebrants offer an alternative to a service provided by a clergy person for those families who are not affiliated with a church or who simply do not wish to have a traditional religious service. 
• Our Celebrants have been specifically trained to design a service that is completely personal, incorporating those unique stories, songs and experiences that defined the individual. 
• Our Celebrants will schedule a special Family Time for those closest to share memories of the loved one’s life making the essence of the tribute service based upon the remembrances of the family. 
• Our Celebrants have a library of resources available for readings, music, ceremonies and personal touches. The Celebrant will consult with the family to help design a service that best reflects and memorializes the life of their loved one. 
• Our Celebrants are bound by a Code of Ethics for complete confidentiality.
  

Why do we offer this service?

Like the past trend with cremation, in recent years we have been noticing increasing requests for non-religious ceremonies. In fact, on March 9, 2009, an Associated Press article written by Rachel Zoll was published. It presented the report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut which surveyed 54,461 adults from February through November of 2008.

What did the survey of 54,461 reveal?

The survey found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and twenty-seven percent of respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.

What is different now? 

Serving families who are not members of a place of worship is not new for us. In the past when arranging a service, families often asked if we could recommend a clergy person because they were not members of a church. This is a request we continue to fulfill for some families. However, more recently we have been noticing a change in that a growing number of families when arranging a service are specifically requesting to not have clergy present. They have also asked how we can help. Feeling obliged, we responded by having our associates further their education to become Certified Celebrants.

Can we use favorite music and poetry? 

Our Certified Celebrant will work with you to create a custom tribute that can include favorite music, poetry, scripture, prayer and most anything you can imagine, wish or request.

Can I confirm a Celebrant’s credentials? 

YES. Contact In-Sight Institute at 1-800-658-9262 or online at www.InsightBooks.com

Service Guaratee

If you are not completely satisfied with any of our services or facilities, you will not be charged for that item of service. We take the risk out of selecting a funeral home with our exclusive written guarantee.