What the International College of Celebrancy is about
Weddings are the flagship ceremony of any culture. They are not the only ceremony, of course, but I will concentrate on the wedding to illustrate why the International College of Celebrancy was formed.
It was Australia, in 1973, which took the initiative in Western culture, of developing ceremonies of dignity for non-churchgoers.
It took time, but Australian (government appointed) civil celebrants listened carefully to what their clients really wanted. From there they evolved principles of ceremony creation, which have led the western world.
Secular ceremonies, based on choice by the client, as sharply contrasted with dictation by the church authority, soon gained popularity with the public such that celebrants now officiate at 60% of the weddings in Australia.
The important element was that a core of civil celebrants set out not simply to just “do” weddings, but to work out how to do them well. To motivate ourselves to Best Practice and the Pursuit of Excellence we need to articulate and understand the theoretical basis why humans have contrived this arrangement we call ceremony. We had to further work out in what sense is ceremony and ritual important psychologically and culturally.
Why is it better to perform a good ceremony rather than a mediocre or even a bad one? What are the elements, which constitute ceremony? Why should secular ceremonies have substance, why should they have meaning, and what kind of skills are need to deliver a ceremony which changes lives? What kind of ceremony has a powerful and even lifelong impact on the subjects and the onlookers - and even those who hear about it.
Why should a civil celebrant aspire to create, with their client, the best and most meaningful wedding (and other) ceremonies the planet has ever seen?
This is what the courses of the International College of Celebrancy seek to do. They seek to impart the philosophy and theoretical knowledge which inspires, and the practical skills which deliver, the very best ceremonies and rituals possible.
Dally Messenger
Principal
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