Organising a Service With An Experienced Funeral Director In Melbourne
In this blog post, we take a closer look at the vital role that funeral directors play in organising seamless and heartfelt funeral services. We’ll explore how celebrants and funeral directors in Melbourne work together to create a meaningful and dignified farewell for loved ones.
What Is The Role Of A Funeral Director In Melbourne When Arranging A Funeral?
Navigating The Roles: Who Conducts A Funeral Service?
This question relates to confusion that can occur because some people use the word ‘conducts’ to describe two different people with two related but different roles.
Those two roles are the Funeral Director and the Celebrant.
The Funeral Director is responsible for organizing all the legal, logistical, and event management processes. On the day of the funeral, the Director’s job is to ‘direct’ the overall fulfilment of the service and logistics.
The Celebrant acts as the Master of Ceremonies (MC), and is the person who welcomes people, and leads the group through the order of service. This might involve reciting poetry, leading a prayer or song, delivering a eulogy or inviting others to complete a range of other rituals.
A well organised funeral service results from careful overall planning and the cooperation and coordination of the Funeral Director and the Celebrant. Using a theatrical comparison, the Funeral Director sets the stage for the entire funeral process, and the Celebrant performs the modern or traditional funeral service on that stage.
It’s understandable that the word ‘conduct’ might be used in relation to either of these roles, but using it is almost certain to cause confusion somewhere along the way. I recommend avoiding possible confusion by using the terms Director and Celebrant. Doing so will also help keep your thinking straight if you are the person, or one of the people, directly engaged in arranging a funeral for a friend or family member.
Understanding Funeral Arrangement Basics
While the terms Funeral Director and Funeral Arranger mean different things inside the funeral industry, they are often used interchangeably.
The expression ‘arranging a funeral’ describes the planning and organisation of all the different parts and processes that added together create a funeral service. This includes essential elements such as transportation and accommodation of the deceased, as well as non-essential (but meaningful) things such as the use of flowers on the coffin. When it comes to a contemporary funeral service, you are only limited by your imagination.
In most cases arranging a funeral is a collaborative effort, between the family and a professional funeral service company. The family provides information, instruction and preferences, and the funeral professional contributes practical guidance, general and specific advice, and ready access to specialised facilities such as vehicles and mortuary accommodation.
Based on personal experience or customs, family members generally have an idea of the type of funeral they want to organise. The person who died may have left some record of specific funeral wishes, and this can guide the planning process. It is up to the family to convey these wishes and instructions as clearly as possible. It is then the role of the skilled funeral director to convert the family’s wishes into a well organised, meaningful funeral event. Whether you prefer a traditional or more modern funeral service, Potter’s Field Funerals is here to assist you.
Don’t be afraid to ask as many clarifying questions as you need to understand the process, and feel free to propose any meaningful inclusion into the funeral arrangements. There are, of course, practical limitations, but as a general rule a professional funeral director in Melbourne should be able to arrange almost anything you ask for provided it is not illegal or dangerous.
Generally speaking, arranging a funeral is not something that anyone wants to do, but it is a certain part of life. The combination of open and transparent communication and sound advice can (and does) make a difficult task manageable. And in time, the memory of a well organised and meaningful farewell becomes a lasting gift to all who knew the person whose life ended.
Who Can Conduct a Funeral Service?
Unlike a marriage ceremony, which requires a licenced civil celebrant or a minister of religion to make the marriage official, virtually anyone can act as the master of ceremonies or celebrant at a funeral. The difference here is that marriage involves the establishment of a legal contract between the newlyweds, while the legal requirement related to a death is the registration of the death with the Births, Deaths and Marriages registrar. The death registration is simply that, a registration, and not a new ‘contract’.
We’ve all seen movies where a death occurs in a remote location, the deceased is buried, and someone reluctantly steps forward to say a few words. As short and simple as this movie scene might be, it represents the basic intent of virtually every funeral. It is a coming-together of people, words and rituals to mark the passing of a fellow human being.
If the deceased was an active member of a religious community the choice of celebrant is often automatic, and the style of service appropriate. For example, as part of our traditional funeral service, we work closely with you to understand the needs and requests of your family, as respecting your faith and values is paramount to us.
On the other hand, for those who are not part of a formal group organising a celebrant is not always as easy – but it is equally important. When searching for a funeral home near you, finding a suitable celebrant becomes crucial for an impactful service.
If there is a member of the family who is confident to speak publicly, and skilled in organising and directing events that person is probably the ideal celebrant. Alternatively, there are professional celebrants (often marriage celebrants who also perform funeral services) available. Professional funeral directors work with experienced funeral celebrants all the time, and may even have a skilled celebrant on staff.
No matter who performs the ceremony, the important thing is that the style and content of service is appropriate, reflects the life of the deceased, and is meaningful for the family and friends who attend the service. So the answer to the question ‘can anyone conduct a funeral service’ is yes. But there is only ever one opportunity to organise a funeral service, so taking the time to be sure you choose a celebrant you feel comfortable and confident with is important.
Explore more about traditional and contemporary funeral services on our website or call us at (03) 9568 4047.
Written by Kevin Hartley
About the author:
Kevin Hartley has been involved in every aspect of the funeral industry for 30 years. He focuses now on promoting sustainable funeral practices, natural burial grounds and has a passion for encouraging people to participate in truly meaningful end-of-life practices and events. His writings combine years of practical experience with formal psychological insights.
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