Kathy Diedrich
Minnesota
Age 55

In 2008 I celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary. I wanted to recognize what I considered to be a significant moment in my life and our relationship with something other than "just" a party. I could not find any services in my area (southeastern Minnesota) to help me accomplish this goal, outside of organized religion. While I was married in the Catholic Church, my husband and I had moved away from organized religion by this time, and did not want a religious ceremony. This experience got me thinking about not only anniversaries, but weddings and funerals. How would my adult children find wedding officiants that could provide meaningful ceremonies without religious content? Who would officiate at my funeral/memorial service and that of my husband in a way that supported our family but without religious platitudes that would be inappropriate for them? Recently published research at the time assured me that I was not alone as a non-religious person, and I realized that demand for the kind of services that I could not find would only grow over time. I realized that I had discovered an unmet need in my area, and that it was I wanted to fill.

I turned to the internet and to the American Humanist Association (of which I was a member) to see if I could find some information. I discovered that the AHA has a Humanist Celebrant credential which allows people in most states to legally perform marriages - OK, that was a piece of the puzzle. But that credential would not teach me how to create meaningful ceremonies or to engage with potential clients. My internet search continued and I found the Celebrant Foundation and Institute. Over the next two years I would receive my credential as a Humanist Celebrant and my certificates from CF&I in Foundations of Celebrancy, Weddings, Funerals, and Ceremonies for Children and Families.

CF&I opened the world of celebrancy to me. I learned not only how to write a wedding ceremony, but about the value of ritual and ceremony of all kinds in our daily lives. I learned how to work with potential and contracted clients. I learned about marketing myself and establishing my practice as a professional certified life cycle celebrant.

To me, preparing to be a celebrant was an investment in my future. At that point in life I wanted to shift my focus and get engaged in work that fed a different part of me. I had worked at IBM as a programmer and project manager for 28 years. IBM had started a practice of annual layoffs, leading me to desire a plan for "after IBM", whenever that came to pass. And my planning was needed. In March of 2010 I was laid off, with 30 days notice. I was just 1 month away from graduating from CF&I with my first three certificates at that time. I quickly moved forward on many fronts so I was able to launch my business in April of 2010. I am now a full-time celebrant offering a full range of ceremony services. Since 2010 my business has grown each year and I now book ceremonies as far as 18 months in advance. I have had the honor of officiating at a Baby Welcoming (non-religious christening) for a couple that I married a few years ago.

I have had the challenge of officiating at the memorial service for a young man in his twenties who had planned to use my services for his wedding before his tragic accident. I've had the pleasure of presiding at some of the first same sex weddings in my area after Minnesota passed Marriage Equality. And I've had the joyful opportunity to preside at well over 150 weddings and counting. With each ceremony I am reminded of the human experiences we all share - birth, coming of age, commitment to others and death. I am reminded of the importance of bringing together our communities to support, celebrate and commemorate these important moments. And I am reminded of the great trust that has been placed in me to guide and support people when they are at their most vulnerable.

Just 6 years ago I had not heard of celebrants. Just 6 years ago I would never have envisioned myself in this role. Just 6 years ago, I had no idea of the wonderful path that lay in front of me.