A Humanist Celebrant

I am proud to be certified by the State of Ohio, and the Humanist Society,  to perform many kinds of life-affirming, commemorative ceremonies that  help humans celebrate events they hold dear.  The first that come to  mind are of course weddings and funerals, and although I am excited to  perform them, I am especially drawn to other opportunities to make the  ordinary extraordinary. I am hoping to create custom events  that will make people’s lives resonate.  By doing so, we are able to  take control of things—to honor them, to name them, to give them  place…to ground them in ways that provide essential framework and  ownership.  Let’s do this side-by-side and make our lives richer. Let’s  keep reminding each other that we have each other and the diverse,  engaging lives we are living are worth celebrating… together!  Following  is a list of services I am willing to design with anyone who’d like to  do so:

Unions and End-Of-Life

Weddings  and funerals should be tailored to suit the needs of the participants  and honorees by carefully selecting spoken words, music, and poetic or  prosaic readings.  Weddings, especially, are exciting  to prepare for and I will be honored to help you and your partner craft  your public or private, legal commitment to each other.  I prefer events  that are small, quaint or even quirky and certainly customized to fit  your needs.

Not many of us are prone to thinking about our own deaths, but many humanists see it as the natural end to life,  nothing to be feared; and even at times, welcomed as a rewarding close  to a life well-lived.  As part of my services, here, I recommend reading  Jo Meyers’ Good to Go as template for end-of-life-planning and  also arranging for a living will on file with your physician and an  attorney.  As many humanists find burials and cremations an impediment  to our Earth, consider alternatives to traditional burial with ideas  such as donating your body to science or having a green-, or eco-burial,  such as the ones offered by companies like Capsula Mundi.  Search “eco burial” for more products, ideas, and information.

Transitions

I especially would like to offer my time for those, especially youth, Coming Out as homosexual or transgender.  Crafting a celebration to help declare  your place in the world, and possibly announce a new name, is an  important step and one not to be taken lightly.  I am not in favor of  issuing surprises for a family, but for designing words and moments to  help bridge an old self to a new self and easing potential communication  tensions that might arise by supplanting them with positive events and  memory-making opportunities.

Coming-of-Age events  for teens, “wise women”, mentors, or retirees; or even other  transitions to new homes, or stations in life for divorcé/es, new  widows/widowers…those are all excellent opportunities to draw attention  to the events at hand and make them known, manageable, and  significant.

Naming Ceremonies

For  newborns, naturalized citizens, or the trans community.  This type of ceremony can give shape to a person or a place commemorating an  invaluable event.

Invocations

I  can also do invocations (akin to an opening prayer) at town-hall or  board meetings especially where the secular voice needs representation.   This service is quite significant to me as it helps to equitably  maintain our humanist place at the table.