Vale CCGA Celebrants Association - CoCA Celebrant News June 2016

Hello Visitor,

The Coalition of Celebrant Associations is an “association of associations”. CoCA does listen to all Commonwealth marriage celebrants and independent civil celebrants and invites them to comment on issues that are of concern to all.

Last month, Meg L'Estange and Julie Allen, the CoCA delegates for CCGA (Monash) Inc. informed CoCA that their association had decided to wind up its operations as an incorporated celebrant association:

"Sadly, this brings CCGA’s proud history of collaboration with CoCA from its inception in 2008 to a close.

CCGA has been an active part of the Coalition from its beginnings. When the Attorney General originally requested that celebrants form a peak body to communicate celebrant concerns to himself and the Marriage Celebrants Section, a team of representatives from various associations, including our own Nigel Caswell, came together.

This group worked hard in collaboration, creating protocols, a constitution and an understanding that their combined voice would be heard by the Attorney General and his team managing the Marriage Program and that their opinions would be sought.

In this they succeeded and, with the fourteen major celebrant  associations present at that time, they called themselves the Coalition of Celebrant Associations.

In the intervening years CoCA has gained the respect of celebrants across Australia. It has developed detailed recommendations regarding celebrant training, methods of appointment, responses to the Regulation Impact Statement, proposed reforms to the celebrant program and OPD amongst other things.

CoCA delegates are volunteers and have exerted enormous energy in trying to represent faithfully the cause of celebrancy and enhance it to a respected and professional status in the community. This has not been easy work, and not all its advice has been heeded.

But a genuine spirit of collaboration between MLCS and CoCA has developed, where not so long ago celebrants had no role in decision making that affected their careers and the general community.

CCGA’s membership of CoCA has been continuous during this important growth phase. Our own association membership has comprised graduates of the course in civil celebrancy at Monash University. As students we were spread across Australia by means of the distance education option.

Since the course closed in 2014, we have ceased to gain new members, we have lost some through a process of attrition (ageing and retirement being two main factors) and our members are too widely dispersed to contribute easily to the ongoing function of the association.

Naturally as part of this process of disincorporation, we are encouraging our members who are still working as celebrants to join other CoCA associations and make ongoing contributions to enhance the profession.

We have decided to go out “with a bang” at a rousing conference in June where we will celebrate our journey and our ongoing collegial connections. And it will be with enormous gratitude that we will be raising our glasses at our Conference to toast the future continuing success of CoCA as the voice of the celebrant community.

CCGA Delegates - Meg L’Estrange and Julie Allen

CoCA regrets the loss of wisdom and energy of our CCGA delegates and the support that CCGA has given in its involvement with CoCA over the last eight years. CCGA's contribution to the development of celebrancy will continue in the fabric of Australian ceremonies and celebrations.

We  thank all CCGA members for their support over the years and wish each and every one CCGA member all the very best for their future in celebrancy and beyond.

Kind regards

CoCA Secretary
secretary@coalitionofcelebrantassociations.org.au

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