Celebrancy Studies 2016 - 2017 Become a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant™

 

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant™!

The Celebrant Foundation & Institute is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to training Celebrants worldwide and promoting the use of ceremony to mark the milestones and transitions in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and organizations. Celebrants are professional modern-day officiants who create personalized ceremonies to meet their clients’ needs. The ideal of Celebrancy is that the client's beliefs and values are paramount, and that the beliefs of the Celebrant are immaterial in the process of ceremony creation. As a Celebrant, you will collaborate with your clients to help them realize their vision for their ceremony, giving them final approval over the ceremony script. No two Celebrant ceremonies are alike.

Celebrants officiate at ceremonies for all types of life events…for babies and adoptions, coming of age, weddings, commitment ceremonies, funerals, and memorials. Celebrants also develop ceremonies to enrich daily life, and for seasonal, community, corporate, and civic events. The opportunities to use ceremony to create connections among families, communities, and couples, whether for healing or celebration, are as varied as our Celebrants and the individuals we work with.

Celebrants serve an essential need in today's society, and the expansion of Celebrant movement here in the United State and Canada is a testament to their growing popularity.  Just this year, New Jersey became the first state in the US to include civil wedding celebrants in its Marriage Act and the CF&I is advocating for other states to follow. It makes sense. Recent Pew Studies reveal that an increasing number of people aren’t connected to a specific religion and many are not religious at all, but still may consider themselves spiritual. And interfaith and multicultural families are now the very fabric of our society.  Life-Cycle Celebrants® offer an alternative. They give people of all backgrounds, traditions, cultures and faiths the opportunity to create ceremonies that best reflect the array of trials, tribulations and triumphs that we all experience as humans throughout our lives.

Being a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant is a viable and satisfying profession. Our alumni enjoy their part-time or fulltime practice, along with the freedom to be their own boss and set their own schedule as a Celebrant.  Celebrants earn anywhere from $500 - $1500 per ceremony and many officiate between 20 and 140 ceremonies a year. Our education program includes a robust and relevant marketing component to assist students to launch and establish themselves as successful Life-Cycle Celebrants®. Parade Magazine, Money Magazine and CNN have also reported Celebrants to be a great career for job changers and encore career baby boomers when they consider retirement. 

In this informational pamphlet, you will find an overview of our Life-Cycle Celebrant® training program, and the application process. Please contact me if you would like further information about our programs in Celebrancy Studies. We look forward to taking this life-changing journey together toward your new viable career as a Life-Cycle Celebrant®. Course are taught in English and in French.

Sincerely, Charlotte Eulette,

International Director, Celebrant Foundation & Institute

Program Contacts

Charlotte Eulette, International Director, Academics Manager Tel:  973.746.1792 charlotteeulette@celebrantinstitute.org	Kathy Croghan, Admissions Tel:  973.746.1792 Administration@celebrantinstitute.org
Mark Attalla, Technical Manager Tel: 888-643-9464 techsupport@celebrantinstitute.org	Mila Martin, Academic Liaison Lamira6@yahoo.com Solange Strougmayer,  French Academic Director: SolangeStrougmayer@wanadoo.fr

What is a Life-Cycle Celebrant®?

Life-Cycle Celebrants certified by the Celebrant Foundation & Institute are trained professionals who believe in the power and effectiveness of ceremony and ritual to guide us through life’s changes and milestone moments. The Life-Cycle Celebrant’s mission is to create a ceremony that reflects a client’s beliefs, philosophy of life, and personality. The Celebrant comes to the table with no agenda; no preconceived notion of what the ceremony should or must look like. Instead, through careful interviewing and a thoughtful process, the Celebrant elicits what is meaningful for each client. After a thorough client interview, we write, rewrite, rehearse, and perform ceremonies.

Life-Cycle Celebrants come from all walks of life and a college degree is not a prerequisite. We are looking for highly-motivated individuals who have an interest in ceremony and ritual, public speaking experience, excellent writing abilities, organizational skills, computer proficiency, and a love of the arts and working with people. Foreign languages are a plus. Above all, the Celebrant candidate must be committed to the Life-Cycle Celebrant® philosophy: Creating personalized ceremonies for people of all beliefs and value systems.

Why Become a Life-Cycle Celebrant Certified by the Celebrant Institute?

We are proud that our enriching curriculum is considered the “Gold Standard of Study in Celebrancy.” But don’t take it from us…hear what our graduates have to say about our program:

“Last night I finished reading the last of the documents for my Weddings course, and when I got to the end, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. All I could think was, “Wow! These people sure are generous!”  I can't believe how much all the celebrants who've gone before me have shared—not only scripts of their ceremonies, but their organizing tips, their brochures and marketing tips, and their fashion advice! It would take me YEARS to accumulate this much wisdom. I feel very loved and supported – you so want me to succeed! Deciding to become certified through the Celebrant Foundation and Institute is decidedly one of the best investments I've ever made!” ~ Class of 2015 graduate

“It exceeded my expectations and I am grateful for the experience. It has expanded my understanding of ritual and ceremony and the role they can play in our individual, family and community lives to enhance our relationships and connections to one another, as well as increase our self-awareness.” - Class of 2009 graduate

“I’m not only extremely excited to now be a practicing Celebrant, but incredibly CONFIDENT in my vocation – and it’s because of the support of my classmates, instructor and the Celebrant Foundation.  I honestly cannot thank you enough. I’m incredibly pleased with my investment.” - Class of 2008 graduate

Our Innovative and Convenient Online Learning Program.

Classes are taught in an innovative online program via real-time participatory web conferencing classes, supplemented by a multimedia online classroom and message board forums. The curriculum is delivered by in-depth class briefs and readings, podcast, video-cast, slideshows, and webinar presentations. Our varied modes of curriculum delivery appeal to all sorts of learners and allow students to form close bonds with their classmates and instructors. Our faculty members are all experienced Life-Cycle Celebrants, eager to share their real-world experiences with their students and their passion for Celebrancy. Classes are offered and taught in English and in French.  

*Students will need to purchase a USB headset to participate in the webinars. For additional computer requirements, please see page 13 of this packet.

CF&I Certificate Courses

To become a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant™, students must complete two courses (Note: both courses are included in the tuition):

1.         Fundamentals of Celebrancy – a required foundation course.

All students are required to take our prerequisite course called Fundamentals of Celebrancy.  It is a three-month, eight-module class that covers all the elements you need to create effective ceremony no matter which specialty course you select. Week by week, you’ll learn Celebrant philosophy and history, ceremony structure, rites of passage theory, symbolism, storytelling, ceremonial public speaking, and introductory client relations.

Students will study and analyze the works of authors who provide the foundation of ritual theory, such as Rites of Passage by Arnold van Gennep, Deeply Into the Bone by Ronald Grimes, The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, Rites of Passage: Celebrating Life's Changes by Kathleen Wall & Gary Ferguson, and The Art of Ritual by Renee Beck & Sydney Metrick. 

Fundamentals of Celebrancy

Prerequisites:  None

Topics Covered:

•                History and Ideals of Celebrancy

•                Ceremony Structure

•                Rites of Passage Theory

•                Arnold Van Gennep and Rites of Passage

•                Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey

•                Ronald Grimes and Ceremony Creation

•                Symbolism

•                Storytelling

•                Ceremonial Public Speaking

•                Client Relationships and Interviewing

•                Ceremony Observation Report

2.         Certificate Courses.

You’ll finish up your course of study by choosing a certificate program of your choice (detailed below).  Each “Certificate Course” is eight modules long and is taught through a combination of real-time weekly web conferencing classes, message board discussion, practical exercises, and culminates in a course-long assignment of writing an original ceremony.

The Celebrant Foundation & Institute offers six certificate tracks:

·      Wedding Celebrancy

·      Funeral Celebrancy

·      Ceremonies Across the Life-Cycle Celebrancy

·      Healing and Transition Celebrancy (advanced course)

·      LGBTQ Life-Cycle Celebrancy (advanced course)

·      Master Life-Cycle Celebrant Certificate (advanced course)

Wedding Celebrancy

Prerequisite: Fundamentals of Celebrancy

Ceremonies included:  Weddings, Commitment Ceremonies, Vow Renewals, Engagements, and Anniversaries

Selected texts for the Weddings concentration include The Conscious Bride by Sheryl Paul and Joining Hands and Heart by Susanna Macomb. 

Topics Covered:

•                Legal Issues for Wedding Celebrants

•                Wedding Ceremony Structure

•                Client Relations, Interviewing, and Fee Setting

•                Storytelling and Ceremony Writing

•                Rituals for Weddings

•                Case Studies: Personalized, Spiritual, Interfaith, and Same-Sex Weddings

•                Managing Rehearsals

•                Performing Weddings

•                Commitment Ceremonies

•                Engagements, Vow Renewals, and Anniversaries

•                Wedding Ceremony Writing Assignment

•                Wedding Ceremony Observation Report

•                Marketing for the Wedding Celebrant

Funeral Celebrancy

Prerequisite:  Fundamentals of Celebrancy

Ceremonies included:  Funerals, Memorials, Pet Funerals, End of Life Celebrations, Working with Pre-Need Clients, Ceremonies for Disposition of the Body, Home Funerals/Green Burials.

Selected texts for the Funerals concentration include Sacred Dying by Megory Anderson and Remembering Well by Sarah York.

Topics Covered:

•                Funeral Ceremony Structure

•                Ceremonies for Committal of the Body

•                The Eulogy

•                Interviewing Clients and Working with Families

•                Case Studies: Personalized Funerals, Funerals for Traumatic Deaths

•                Funeral Rituals

•                Performing Funerals

•                Working with the Funeral Industry

•                Pet Funerals

•                Pre-Need Funeral Ceremony Clients

•                Funeral Ceremony Writing Assignment

•                Funeral Ceremony Observation Report

•                Trends: Home Funerals and Green Burial

•                Marketing for the Funeral Celebrant

Ceremonies Across the Life-Cycle

Prerequisite:  Fundamentals of Celebrancy

Ceremonies included: Ceremonies for Expectant Parents, Baby Namings & Welcomings, Coming of Age, Milestone Birthdays, Graduations, Ceremonies for Homes, Personal Ritual, Men’s and Women’s Midlife Passages, Seasonal Ceremonies, Career Change, Retirement

Topics Covered:

•                Becoming Parents: Ceremonies for Expectancy

•                Becoming a Family:  Ceremonies to Welcome Children

•                Adolescent & Young Adult Coming of Age

•                Coming Home:  Ceremonies for Dwellings

•                Milestone Birthdays

•                Men’s and Women’s Midlife Passages (including Divorce)

•                Career Change and Retirement

•                Personal Ritual

•                Honoring the Seasons, Celebrating the Earth

•                Interviewing Clients

•                Ceremony Development and Performance

•                Ceremony Writing Assignment

•                Ceremony Observation Report

•                Marketing

Ceremonies for Healing and Transition

Prerequisite: Any other certificate course (may take simultaneously)

Ceremonies included: Chronic and Life-Threatening Illnesses, Addiction and Recovery, Pregnancy Trauma and Infant Loss, Relationship Reclaiming, Divorce, Gender Identity and Transitions, Prisoner Re-Entry, Employment Transitions (layoffs, retirement, organizational changes), Sacred Dying and Bereavement, Community Healing for Shared Trauma

Topics Covered:

•                Purposes of Ceremonies for Healing

•                Setting Boundaries: The Different Roles of Therapist and Celebrant

•                Healing from Illness

•                Healing in Relationships: Ceremonies for Divorce and Recommitment

•                Healing at Work: Job Loss and Healing in Organizations

•                Personal Ritual for Difficult Transition such as Divorce and Recovery

•                Ceremonies of Validation for Caregivers

•                Grieving Loss

•                Gratitude Ceremony after Gender Confirming Surgery

•                Healing for Prisoner Transition

 LGBTQ Life-Cycle Ceremony Workshop Certificate

Note: This course is offered only during the Fall term each year to Celebrant Alums with 1-year experience

Prerequisite: Open to alumni with at least one certification.

This workshop, a certificate course, will consist of three one hour and fifteen minute classes. Participants will discuss the history of the LGBTQ movement and talk about terminology and legality of same sex ceremonies in the United States and abroad.

Participants will delve into the following ceremonies, Funerals, Ceremonies for Families and Other Ceremonies specific to the LGBTQ community.

There will be discussions about Weddings and Marketing to the LGBTQ Community, the nuances that separate same-sex wedding ceremonies from wedding ceremonies for straight couples. Participants will receive tips to enhance their websites and promotional material.

Participants will complete the workshop with a better understanding of their LGBTQ clients. Classes will include practical, hands-on exercises and will provide an opportunity for questions and answers.

·       History and Terminology

·       Family Ceremonies, Funerals and other life-cycle ceremonies

·       Wedding Ceremonies – Marketing to Your Celebrant Services

There will be an abundance of readings and resources and a thirty-minute, one-on-one mentoring and discussion (phone call) with the teacher subsequent to the workshop, timing to be agreed upon by teacher and student.

Link to recording of course founders, Mila Martin and Anita Vaughn, talking about the course: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzaE0AH93hCgb3pZTDE1MFZlVVk/view?usp=sharing

Master Life-Cycle Celebrant Certificate

This project based course is offered once a year: beginning May 12, 2017 through January 12, 2018

Taught by:  Master Life-Cycle Celebrant, Sandra Monahan

The Celebrant Foundation & Institute offers to our accomplished alumni Celebrants the CF&I Master Life-Cycle Celebrant™ Certificate Program. This advanced academic and service program is designed to provide a “Master” designation to those experienced Celebrants who are at the forefront of our Celebrant movement committed to being Life-Cycle Celebrant leaders, pioneers and mentors.

Prerequisite: The program is open to graduate CF&I Life-Cycle Celebrants who have at least three years of Celebrant practice experience, and are certified in at least three of the five certificate courses we offer which are: Ceremonies Across the Life Cycle (Families & Children), Weddings, Healings, LGBTQ Life-Cycle and Funerals.

This challenging eight-month program requires Celebrants candidates to complete a number of projects. This course includes: A phone interview upon acceptance, a three session mini refresher course; Master research project, submission of Portfolio of Celebrant Work and a 20-30-minute end of course recorded interview with CF&I Master Program Director and Master Life-Cycle Celebrant, Sandra Monahan, to receive your certification. Upon completion graduates will receive their “Masters” certification, diploma and use of the title and CF&I Master Life-Cycle Celebrant Logo. Master Celebrants are invited to graduate in January 2018 with the Fall 2017 Graduating class via a worldwide virtual Tele-ceremony graduation.

Double Majors. You may take two certificate courses simultaneously with approval of the Academic Director and payment of additional tuition for the second course. If you don’t wish to double major, you may return in subsequent terms to take additional certificate courses.

Course Schedule 2016 - 2017

Courses are offered three times per year:

·        Summer Term: June 6^th, 2016 to – August 8^th 2016

·        Fall Term: September 26^th, 2016 – December 10^th, 2016

·        Winter Term: January 30^th 2017 – April 17^th 2017

Applying for Admission: You may apply for admission easily using our online form here:  http://celebrantinstitute.org/Application/mail.php

You’ll need:

•                Your resume or CV.

•                A 2-3 page personal statement on why you want to become a Celebrant.

•                Note that the Institute may then conduct an in-person or telephone interview with you.

Tuition

Tuition for your Celebrancy certificate program is $2,500 (US), and includes Fundamentals of Celebrancy and your choice of one of our certificate programs: Weddings, Funerals or Ceremonies Across the Life-Cycle. Additional certifications are $1,100 (US).

We offer two types of payment plans:

Two-Payment Plan – available to students paying by check or credit card:

You may pay in two equal installments of $1,250 using Visa/MasterCard, personal or bank check, as follows:

•                $1250 due upon enrollment

•                $1250 due one week prior to your certificate course

•                Monthly Payment Plan – available to students paying by check only:

•                $416.70 due upon enrollment

•                Five payments of $416.66 due the first of each month you are enrolled.

•                We also accept PayPal for easy payments online.

•                US checks can be sent to: CF&I, 41 Watchung Plaza, Suite 516, Montclair, NJ 07042 Attn: Kathy Croghan, Office Manager

Additional certificate courses are $1100 and the cost can be prorated into your monthly payment plan. All payments are due in US dollars. 

Additional Costs. Students are required, during the course of study, to arrange and pay all fees for a qualified professional vocal evaluator to assess their public speaking and presentation abilities. Additional textbooks that may be required to be purchased are solely the responsibility of the student. The vast majority of study materials are included in tuition and downloadable from the Institute’s web site. Note: Funeral students should purchase Remembering Well by Sarah York.

Refunds and Withdrawals.  Notices of withdrawal from the program must be made in writing to the Director of Academics.  Students may defer their studies and keep any tuition already paid on file as a credit toward future courses. Refunds of tuition paid are available according to the following schedule:

REFUND SCHEDULE

Withdrawal before access to course materials:    Full refund less $100 administrative fee

Withdrawal before Class 4 materials are posted: Full refund less $450

After Class 4: No refunds, tuition due in full

Life-Cycle Celebrant™ Code of Ethics

·       To maintain a professional standard of service to the public.

·       To serve each client/honoree with respect, sensitivity and professionalism and to provide all services in a timely manner.

·       To ensure that clients/honorees have complete choice of and final say over their ceremonies, and that the Celebrant’s personal beliefs are immaterial to this process. To encourage clients in choosing and/or approving a ceremony that is satisfying to them.

·       To respectfully provide a ceremony that is as accurate as possible in all respects, including the pronunciation of the names of people, places and things.

·       To meet the client/honoree for a no-obligation interview to discuss services prior to engagement. 

·       To provide unlimited consultation to clients while creating their ceremony. 

·       To conduct a rehearsal when necessary to the ceremony. 

·       To perform the ceremony in a professional, prepared and appropriate manner.

·       To gift the client/honoree a keepsake gift of their ceremony.

·       To provide a service that recognizes the unique personalities of your clients, being sensitive to their needs, wishes, values, philosophical and spiritual beliefs and cultural backgrounds.

·       Not to discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, philosophy of life, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation.

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS

The Celebrant Foundation & Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The school admits students of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

Computer Requirements for the Online Features of the Course

This is a computer-based course, using an online classroom, message boards, and a webinar system for your weekly real-time classes. 

Please check to see that you meet the minimum system requirements and that you have the equipment you need.

A.              WEBINAR CLASS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS and REQUIRED EQUIPMENT.

What is a Webinar? Attending a webinar class simply means that via the computer, we can all see the same computer screen, hear everyone through a headset or your phone, and talk to everyone via your headset microphone or the telephone. You do NOT need a webcam. The software we use for our webinar classes is called GoToTraining®

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR GOTOTRAINING WEBINARS

Windows                    Operating system                   Windows 8 Windows 7 Windows Vista Windows XP Windows 2003 Server Mozilla® Firefox® 4.0 or newer Google Chrome™ 5.0 or newer

Processor:                2.4GHz or more RAM:                         2GB or more Internet:                                     DSL or better Bandwidth:              700Kbps or more for simultaneous                                       screen sharing, video and audio                                              conferencing Browser:                   Internet Explorer® 7.0 or newer

Mac           Operating system                   Mac OS® X 10.6 (Snow Leopard®) Mac OS® X 10.7 (Lion®) Mac OS® X 10.8 (Mountain Lion®)

RAM:                         1GB Processor                 2.4GHz Intel processor (Core 2 Duo) Internet:                                     DSL or better Bandwidth:              700Kbps or more for simultaneous                                     screen sharing, video and audio                                     conferencing Browser:                   Safari™ 3.0 or newer                                     Mozilla® Firefox® 4.0 or newer                                     Google Chrome™ 5.0 or newer

What equipment do I need to use GOTOTRAINING?

Windows or Mac computer, Internet connection (broadband is best), Cell Phone or land line to call into the classroom.

B.              INTERNET BROWSER FOR THE ONLINE CLASSROOM.

To use the features of the online classroom, you should access it with the most recent Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Firefox/Mozilla internet browser, or Safari for Mac-based students. These browsers can be downloaded or upgraded for free by visiting the web pages below and following the instructions

•Firefox (from Mozilla) http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

•Google Chrome www.google.com/chrome  

•Internet Explorer http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx

•Safari (for Mac) www.apple.com/safari/download/

If you have any questions or requests, feel free to reach out to us at (973) 746 1792 or email Charlotte Eulette, International Director at:  CharlotteEulette@Celebrantinstitute.org .

Thank you!

The Celebrant Foundation & Institute

WWW.CELEBRANTINSTITUTE.ORG

PH: 973 746 1792   FX: 974 746 1775