Launch of The Institute of Civil Funerals – Prepared November 2004

October 2004 welcomed the launch of a unique professional body, an Institute to set a national standard for the delivery of Civil Funeral Ceremonies in the UK.

A Civil Funeral is defined as: A funeral which is driven by the wishes, beliefs and values of the deceased and their family, not by the beliefs or ideology of the person conducting the funeral.

The Institute of Civil Funerals (IOCF) aims to provide ongoing professional development for members, monitor and regulate the quality of funeral ceremonies delivered and promote awareness of this important new choice for bereaved families.

The Institute is supported by notable Council members who have been invited to represent various key facets of ageing, society, death and the funeral services, each an expert in their field with invaluable experience, working together towards the Institute's objectives which major heavily on improvement, education, diversity and quality standards.

A key objective of the IOCF is to identify those spheres where there are particularly traumatic or difficult circumstances surrounding a funeral that call for specialist knowledge, such as ceremonies involving retained organs, stillborn or pre-term babies, suicides and homicide victims.

Working in partnership with specialist organisations such as The Child Bereavement Trust, the IOCF will provide and facilitate specialist training, offering members the opportunity to gain advanced and specialised skills and to extend their knowledge base through training courses, workshops and seminars, enabling members to undertake such specialist funeral ceremonies.

The IOCF is taking on this difficult and much needed role with sincerity and amongst its responsibilities will promote the availability of specialist services, will deal with complaints and suggestions from Celebrants, the public and outside organisations and will promote the Institute and its members to Funeral Directors and the public. The IOCF will also facilitate member networking and sharing of experiences through conferences and an on-line Civil Funeral Celebrants Forum.

Membership of the IOCF is open to those who meet the criteria set out by the Institute; those celebrants who have already qualified and are practicing Civil Funeral Celebrants will have the opportunity to attain founder member status. Members are bound by the Code of Practice and will be assessed annually, on a quality control basis, to retain membership.

It is also recognised that there will be organisations and individuals, whilst not practicing celebrants, will have a real interest in the work of the Institute and who wish to benefit from an Associate Membership

The first Board meeting of the Institute was held in October 2004 and attended by the invited board members;
Anne Barber (Chair), initiator of Civil Funerals and the Institute of Civil Funerals;
Professor Malcolm Johnson, Professor of Health and Social Policy at the University of Bristol;
John Pearce, former Chair of the Humanist Ceremonies Committee;
Mervyn Pilley, Chief Executive Officer of the National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF);
Janice Thomson, Superintendent Registrar for the London Borough of Barnet and Civil Funeral Celebrant;
Lesley Leon, General Manager of Development at Dignity Caring Funeral Services;
Julie Dunk, representing the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management;
Paul Knight, Member of the Executive of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) Funeral Director and Training Officer for the Laurel Management Funeral Group;
Marilyn Watts,( Secretary) IT Manager and System Developer responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Institute.

Further information about Civil Funerals can be found at www.civilfunerals.co.uk and the Institute's website www.iocf..org.uk will be live in December 2004.


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