We are now delighted to announce that we are looking to invite six new celebrants to join our Life Celebrant network this year. Thank you so much to everyone who has expressed an interest in joining us this past year. We’ve sent you all an email inviting you to apply.

If you are someone who has always held a deep fascination for life transitions, who loves to honour rites of passage through ritual and ceremony, who enjoys bringing individuals together in celebration, and who has a heart-centred and open-minded respect towards the many varied, sometimes contradictory, and often complicated beliefs, values and wishes of others, then becoming an Agnostic Scotland Life Celebrant could be the perfect role for you. No prior celebrancy experience is necessary, although experienced celebrants are also welcome to apply.

At Agnostic Scotland, we offer ceremonies that respond to the unique blend of beliefs, values and wishes of the families involved. As one of our ambassadors says:

“In today’s Scotland, there are fewer formal rituals. But our souls still need them. Today, we need a safe space for our rites, our ceremonies. Somewhere where there are no stipulations on God. Or Gods. Or no God(s). Or on gender binaries. Or on what a family looks like. Or on what music you can and can’t sing, or play, or listen to. I am excited that Agnostic Scotland can hold those spaces, perform those rituals, celebrate those ceremonies. Everyone deserves a safe place to mark life’s milestones.”

Stella Hervey Birrell, award-winning poet and writer

Since our launch in November 2019, we’ve been humbled by the response from people across Scotland wishing us well, enquiring about working with us, and asking about how to join our team.

Our 2021-22 training programme was a great success and we are delighted to now have seven celebrants on our Agnostic Scotland team, based in the Lothians, Dumfries & Galloway, the Highlands, and Fife.

I have found the whole Agnostic Scotland training process a life-enriching experience. It feels so good to be part of an organisation which lives up to be what it aims to be – open, welcoming and inclusive. And full of lovely, interesting people, who can learn from each other.

Andrea, Onie and Linda, you have created something wonderful. Thanks for all your support, both in training and ongoing. I am so enjoying learning new things all the time, getting my brain fired up, and connecting with people in such a positive way for ceremonies: it is all so life affirming!

Anne Armstrong, Agnostic Scotland Life Celebrant, Dumfries & Galloway

In this second round of application, we are hoping to recruit six new Life Celebrants, ideally complementing the current Scottish local authority areas that we cover. Our aim is to expand our network organically, taking time to invest in each new Life Celebrant joining our organisation to ensure the high quality of our community service provision, and to fully support all participants throughout the process. Going forward, we will be looking to recruit a further six Life Celebrants every two years.

This year’s application process will open from 5th June 2023. Interested individuals are invited to contact us in advance if they wish to be sent the application form at the time. The deadline for applications will be noon on Friday 25th August.

Following the application deadline, twenty successful applicants will be invited for online interview on Wednesday 1st/ 8th November. We will inform all applicants on Monday 13th November which six applicants are to be accepted on the Training and Mentoring Programme.

In keeping with our core values and ethos to provide an inclusive community service, we have kept the cost of the Agnostic Scotland Life Celebrancy Programme as affordable as possible. At £2,000 our programme is lower than most other training providers in this sector and the training and mentoring we provide will include all aspects of life celebrancy – weddings, naming ceremonies, funerals, life celebrations and other life transition ceremonies. There is one £500 bursary available for this training and we welcome applications for this bursary from individuals for whom cost is a barrier.

One of our key aims is to diversify Celebrancy in Scotland, and we particularly welcome applications from individuals who will help us achieve and work towards this aim.

The first phase of the training and mentoring programme will take the form of self-study and completion of all the practical exercises contained in the Agnostic Scotland Life Celebrancy Handbook. This will be supported by regular 1-1 meetings with your assigned mentor. During this process, you will also be expected to complete homework and provide presentations on certain aspects of the learning at the monthly Agnostic Scotland Life Celebrant Hub. Ongoing monthly meetings with the wider Agnostic Scotland network will be provided for support and confidence building.

The second phase will take the form of shadowing, in a staged process, your mentor while they undertake ceremonies such as weddings, namings, and funerals. The shadowing process will be adapted according to the skills, confidence and experience of the mentee.

Applications are welcome from all local authority areas in Scotland apart from the Lothians and Fife.

To help us respond to the growing demand for Agnostic Wedding ceremonies across Scotland, it is our hope and intention that the Life Celebrants who join Agnostic Scotland who wish to officiate at Weddings will be approved by National Records Scotland to conduct legal Marriage Ceremonies.

We are so excited to be welcoming in this next phase in the development of Agnostic Scotland, and ultimately working towards our goal of providing beautiful, inclusive ceremonies that reflect the beliefs, values and wishes of the families involved.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Please contact us to let us know if you’d like to be sent the application form on 5th June 2023. Thank you, and good luck!