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Discard tradition and embrace the modern face of ritual.
The most wonderful thing is the diversity of the ceremonies. Endless options for locations open the doors to people’s imagination. It is no longer considered a gimmick if a surfing couple exchange their marriage vows standing in the ocean or if a ceremony is conducted in a hot air balloon. If the funeral of an avid bushwalker is held at his favourite lookout or a football player on the home ground, it is a far more fitting tribute to their life than standing forlornly in a cemetery. After all, a life lived should be properly celebrated. Civil ceremonies give greater scope for ordinary people to express ideas, thoughts and beliefs in a formal manner. The celebrant guides the client on the various ways they can achieve their objec-tive through a ceremony. A person dying of cancer, HIV, or other terminal illness may have a ceremony to express their thanks to family and friends.
A bit like planning your funeral and having it while you’re still alive but how great it is to recognise those we love whilst we are living rather than after we die. It is much more satisfying than assuming that they knew they were loved and appreciated. Civil celebrants are redefining the role of ceremonies and celebrations within our communities. Having a civil celebrant officiate doesn’t mean excluding all religion, indeed prayers and blessings are commonly requested. Ironically there is often a greater spiritual significance in the civil celebration because the service encapsulates the essence of those involved. The evolution of these contemporary ceremonies can be attributed to our diverse cultural heritage.
These modern day rites of passage take the best of traditional ideas brought here from around the world and then reinvent them to fit into the lifestyles of the 21st century. The use of symbolism is very important. The popular lighting of the unity candle at a wedding where ‘two become one’, and the hand-fasting in which two souls are bound together can be traced back to the times of tying ‘the knot’ on the church porch. The Greek Crowning ceremony has been adapted into the modern civil wedding with as much significance for the couple as if it had occurred in church. As the peak professional body, the Australian Federation of Civil Cele-brants (AFCC) puts much effort into ensuring members stay attuned to the community’s ever changing needs.
With our vast email network, celebrants in remote and rural areas are
able to offer their community the same level of diversity and high standard
as their city counterparts. So if there is to be a memorial on an island
off the west Australian coast or on the Sydney Harbour foreshore, every
AFCC celebrant has access to relevant resources. For anyone planning
a celebration, but particularly for people who are not regular church
goers, a phone call to your local celebrant to talk about what they
can do for you is certainly worthwhile. If you don’t know how to
find a celebrant you can phone the national enquiry line on 1300 555
875 and they will put you in touch with someone.
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