FARMINGTON – Funeral director Rhonda Wiles-Rosell of Wiles Funeral Home, Cremation Service and Bereavement Resource Center attended a three-day workshop to become a certified funeral celebrant.

The training was held at Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass.

She is the first funeral director in Maine to become a certified celebrant.

Funeral celebrant training is the concept of Doug Manning and Glenda Stansbury of In-Sight Books, Inc. A celebrant is a lay-person, clergy person or funeral director who has been trained in the specific area of conducting non-religious funerals.

“I see this as an additional way for family-owned funeral homes to support the dying and the bereaved during this time in their family journey. It is not meant to replace the role of the clergy; but rather, to enhance a family’s variety of options as they explore the importance of ritual in their lives,” said Wiles-Rosell.