Emma Curtis

Independent Celebrant and Secular Minister offering unique, meaningful funeral ceremonies, pastoral support and bereavement counselling

Or you can call me on 07768 878764.

If you would like to speak to me about being the celebrant for a funeral service you can call me on this number or drop me a line by email.

My funeral celebrancy charges are £50/hr for creating and officiating a funeral service, which includes meeting with you (and sometimes others you want me to talk to), drafting the ceremony, officiating the ceremony and supporting you as much as you feel you need.

About Emma

Emma is a secular minister and pastoral counsellor creating highly personalised funerals and memorial ceremonies based on the personalities and beliefs of those she serves, however individual. She also offers continuing pastoral care. As a certified celebrant, psychological therapist and grief specialist, she fully supports the bereaved through and beyond the funeral ceremony.

Emma was awarded the National Celebrant Award for Influencing the Wider Professional of Funeral Celebrancy in 2018 and she is the representative for Independent Celebrants on the Funeral Celebrancy Council. In June 2019 the Council launched The Funeral Celebrant Accord with the aim of raising standards in funeral celebrancy, and promoting a conversation about what a good celebrant can offer to the bereaved. Emma is very proud to have played a part in the drafting of this document.

Emma’s thirty years on the international stage as a professional opera singer and actress support her expertise in presentation skills and public speaking. She has facilitated group and workshops throughout her career including voice, grief, play, creatively, confidence and presentation, as well as being a Death Cafe host and Dementia Friend.

Emma teaches and mentors celebrants and ministers. Before founding Ceremony Matters Emma founded the mentoring and supervision service for celebrants, Celebrant Support. In March 2020 Emma started and hosted The Funeral Celebrant’s Support Network providing personal and peer-to-peer support for hundreds of UK celebrants over the first months of the covid-19 pandemic. She is also the creator and facilitator of Time to Altar Grief, an ongoing secular altar for the community created from memorial art. Emma runs Death Cafes (and talks on how to run one), and death and grief positivity workshops for both adults and children. She has presented at many festivals and events including the National Trust’s Life. Death. Whatever., Belief and Beyond Belief at the Southbank Centre, ‘Reframing Grief’ for the Brighton Festival, also for the British Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Royal Observatory Greenwich, National Maritime Museum, Sir John Soane’s Museum and for the Open University. In September 2019 she presented at the 14th International Conference on the Social Context of Death, Dying and Disposal at the University of Bath on the subject of Engagement and empowerment of the bereaved in the preparation and facilitation of a meaningful funeral ceremony. In 2022 Emma completed her MSc in Psychology at Birkbeck College studying the effects of expectation and surprise upon perception of events.

“I’m here to share all my knowledge, skills and experience with you to help get you to where you want to be.”

If you would like to know more about my singing career, click here

For support for professional celebrants, click here for CelebrantSupport.com

 

What a wonderful thing you managed to do! Yesterday was the saddest day of my life and yet, I felt happy too….I think it was because I truly felt that with your amazing help and guidance we really got it right.

Kathy

Dear Emma,
We wanted to thank you for the beautiful service for Ron.
Everything flowed so well, and because you had spent an afternoon with myself and Mary you really got to know the real Ron.  I felt an instant relief when talking to you and had great confidence that you knew exactly what we wanted, a huge relief to us. We all felt that you showed compassion and sympathy when delivering the speech, many of Ron’s friends thought you even knew him personally as you described Ron and his life perfectly. Nothing was too much trouble for you – showing such kindness to our Grandchildren, giving them little things to do and involving them in the day.
Thank you for giving Ron such a beautiful send-off, it was a great comfort to all of us.
Yours, with love, Beverly

Beverley

J’s ceremony was both amazing and empowering. You are the kind of down-to-earth, no-nonsense wise woman I would like to keep in touch with.

Dawn

Qualifications:

MSc Psychology 
Birkbeck College, University of London

Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, Dip CBH, Dip SMRB
UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy, specialising in stress and resilience building, performance enhancement and post-traumatic growth

Certified Thanatologist – Death and Grief Studies
Dr Alan Wolfelt, Center for Loss and Life Transitions/Colorado State University

Ordained Minister and Pastoral Counsellor
Venus Rising Association

Certificates in Funeral Celebrancy and Weddings and Family Celebrancy Fellowship of Professional Celebrants

Post Diploma Vocal Training (Opera and Concert singing) Certificate of Advanced Study Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Graduate Diploma in Music GGSM 
Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Emma is also a certified Sound Healer, Master Breathwork Practitioner, Reiki Master and Laughter Yoga leader.

Emma is also a Death Cafe host, and a Dementia Friends Champion, offering Dementia Friends Information sessions as a volunteer for Alzheimers Society.

“I have Adopted The Accord. I’m proud to have been a part of the development of the Funeral Celebrant Accord as a representative on the Funeral Celebrancy Council. I have been the council’s representative of Independent Celebrants since 2019.”