Civil Unions/Commitment Ceremonies

A Civil Union/Commitment Ceremony is essentially a gay wedding.  Sadly, gay weddings are not yet legal in Idaho.  But all couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, should still be able to celebrate and acknowledge their love for each other with a meaningful, joyful, (and hopefully someday -- legal) ceremony.  

 

Naming Ceremony

A Naming Ceremony is the equivalent of a non-religious christening.  A naming ceremony welcomes the child into the family and the wider community and announces the names that have been chosen.  The ceremony makes promises of commitment to nurture and support the child into adult life, chooses other adults to have a special supportive relationship to the child, and reflects on the miracle of birth and recognizes that children are society’s hope for the future.  

 

House Blessing

The idea behind a House Blessing is simple. You are moving any energy out of the area that has been left by the previous occupants, even if those were builders, and replacing it with good energy that you ask for. You are setting the foundation of energy, and harmony in the space for you and your family to walk into, as well as asking for blessings for the future.

 

Funerals

"We cannot give those in mourning that which they want most- to have the dead back.  But the act of honoring is itself consolatory."  ~Elizabeth Bishop, poet

 

When the ones we love move on and pass on to another phase of existence, they are not completely gone.  Their memory lives on with us in stories, in sharing, in remembering.  All a person has accomplished and all they have done in a life time, lives on in the lives of those they have touched, in the examples they have set, in the lessons they have taught, in the friendships they have nurtured.  Our loved one's spirit stays with us.  That is the beautiful thing about being human.  

 

A funeral should be a celebration of that person's life.  Death is imminent- it happens to all of us.  Knowing we have a limited time here makes us live better, fuller, more joyfully.  When we do die, it should be peacefully, with no regrets.  Live each day as though it may be your last.

 

"A really fine funeral celebrates a wonderful life and illustrates how much life is gained by preparing well for being dead... Those who take time to plan arrangements with death end up having made new arrangements with life. Many finally start living well.  They simplify their lives, spend time with those they love, slow down, and get around to doing many things they had put off"    

~Robert Fulghum  From Beginning to End:  The Rituals of our Lives