March 2015

 
Welcome to the latest edition of the Institute Update

A very warm welcome to our newest members:
        Helen Cook, Colin Thomas and Sue Oxley.
 

'The death rate in England and Wales is about a third higher than normal for this time of year,
official figures show.
About 28,800 deaths were registered in the fortnight ending 23 January, according to the Office for
National Statistics (ONS). This is 32% higher than the average for that period over the previous
five years (21,859).'

The Guardian Online

Even if you didn't pick up on this news item, many of you are experiencing the resultant increase in funeral ceremonies and have been very busy over the past weeks. Crematoria have opened at weekends, or for longer hours and, once members have had time to return all their booking forms to the office, no doubt we shall see quite an increase in our year on year figures for January and February. In some cases funeral ceremonies have been booked four or five weeks in advance, sometimes causing distress to the families and additional challenges for the celebrant to keep everything 'fresh' and appropriate after such a delay.

I know that for new members or those who are in areas which haven't seen such a marked rise in the death rate, the above may be a cause of frustration to you. However, the increase in IoCF ceremonies means that more people will have experienced them and future work may well come your way. I know that many of you work closely with other members in your area but it would be useful for all of us to ensure that the funeral arrangers who we work with have an up to date list of other IoCF members who could help out with a ceremony if we are unavailable.

Note from our Script Assessor:
Scripts indicate that, at the start of the funeral service, whilst members are introducing themselves as Civil Funeral celebrants, they are not making reference to the Institute. Whenever appropriate, do introduce yourself as 'an Institute of Civil Funerals' celebrant' or, at least, make sure that this is cited on the presentation script you give to the family after the service.

It is also acceptable to add your name, including post-nominal letters, into the order of service sheets where a suitable reference to the celebrant might appear. This should be done, of course, with the consent of the family and in a discreet and professional manner.

Social Media
I do also need to remind members about the use of social media sites: any statements about or references to a service that you have led are unprofessional and in breach of the IoCF Code of Practice (however innocuous they may seem). We all need to 'offload' at times and regional groups and the forum provide ample opportunity for doing this within a 'private' environment; with the benefit of support from those who understand your experiences.

Council Meeting
The IoCF council tackled a very full agenda at its first meeting of 2015 and every member of the council is, as ever, working very hard on your behalf; in addition to their increased personal workload. As many of you will have noted, we could report that the BIORC website had been closed down. There are many organisations and associations for funeral and ceremony celebrants - and new ones appearing on a regular basis - which we have no jurisdiction over. However, in this instance, the use of the term 'Institute' (which must be granted by charter and registered at Companies House) meant that we could take action.

New Logo
Hopefully, you will have spotted the change to our logo at the top of this letter. Whilst we do not intend to 'reinvent the wheel', Council felt that it is the right time to review the IoCF brand as we move into its second decade. The logo 'swoosh' is now recognised by funeral arrangers and the public but we felt that the addition of a tag line brought it up to date and that 'setting the national standard' was fully justified. The golden theme (gold badge, gold rose, gold standard) of our tenth anniversary year was very successful and the rose has been commented upon very favourably by many. Therefore Council have voted to keep the golden rose logo. After much consideration it was decided that to add it to our established IoCF logo would not work, however, it will be adapted for use on all IoCF stationery and other merchandise. So, watch this space for news not only of re-branded leaflets, business cards, note paper, script cover paper etc but also ties, scarves, lapel pins etc!

As soon as all details are finalised, we will be sending out the new logo for your use and more information about merchandise. Watch out in the trade press for the 'launch' of the new logo - Council has succeeded in getting full or double page spreads for recent articles sent for publication and so is maintaining a high profile for the IoCF amongst funeral arrangers.

Best Practice Day
You will very soon be receiving your invitation to join us for a Best Practice Day at the Claret Centre, Buckden, on Saturday, 18th April. The programme for the day is almost finalised and, in addition to updates on the profession and presentation technology, the theme for the day will be 'working with families'. We do hope that as many of you as possible will be able to attend. If distance from Buckden is an issue and you feel that it would be worthwhile for the Council to repeat the day at a venue closer to you, do please contact myself or Barbara with any suggestions which you have to enable us to do this.

National Funeral Exhibition
We are also finalising our plans for the IoCF stand at the National Funeral Exhibition to be held at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire from Friday 12 June to Sunday 14th June 2015. Our presence at this event is invaluable to our standing in the industry and members have also found it a very informative event and a great networking opportunity. Members of the Council will be on the stand all through the weekend but we would also appreciate your support in helping to man the stand. If you are coming to the NFE and can spare an hour to do this, please let Barbara know which day you will be there and she will draw up a rota to be circulated in advance of the event.

Best wishes
Christine Ogden
 

 
Admin News

Office hours
Please note that the office will be closed from 2pm Thursday 2nd April until 10am Monday 13th April as Barbara will be on holiday. In case of emergencies please contact Christine Ogden on 01507 313164 or 07748 166236.
 

IoCF Stationery
To order IoCF items, contact Barbara (barbara@iocf.org.uk).

Overprinted leaflets - 12p each
Business cards - a sliding scale dependent upon quantity
Headed Paper (50 sheets) - £6
Compliment Slips (50 slips) - £6
Zipped Writing Case - £20
Presentation Folder - £10

For additional ceremony products visit www.celebrantsupplies.co.uk - a 'trade only' site for celebrants.
 

Message from CCL
In response to a recent query: Anne would like everyone to know that although CCL does suggest potential trainees contact some IoCF members to find out about the training - she would never suggest that they should shadow you in your work or attend interviews with families.
 

Child Funeral Charity
A new company, Inspired Goodbyes, has created a range of bereavement cards with a difference. Instead of 'deepest condolences' or 'with sympathy', each card has a uniquely personal message. CFC will benefit from 25p per each card sold. Follow the link to have a look:
www.inspiredgoodbyes.co.uk
 

 
Database Statistics

Here are the stats for November 2014.

Total number of booking forms logged: 547

 
2015 Diary Dates

 
A Cautionary Tale.

A local vicar had a visit from a couple of blokes who wanted money. The vicar was getting ready to go and take a funeral at the crematorium so things like his robes and service notes, including what he was going to say about the deceased, were already in the car in a bag. The vicar sent the two blokes into church to wait while he made them a drink and a sandwich. While he was in the church serving them refreshments, two other guys raided the car, taking the funeral things. Unfortunately for the vicar, once he's typed everything up and printed it, he deletes it from his computer.

I think the moral here is, do not leave your funeral script in the car!

Heather Peet

 
And Finally ...

Congratulations to the following members who have reached another milestone in their work:
        Chris Mills, Rosemary Drewery, Steve Blakeley, Chris Price, Karen Hopkins, Vikki McKeegan,
        Lianna Champ, Geoff Wood and Jeremy Bradbear-Hector.
 

And thank you for reading.
Barbara