Natural Burials

DSCN0754 Any ceremony that accompanies a natural burial is as flexible as your imagination, takes into consideration the environment and has minimum impact upon it.

I’ve been honoured to work with people on planning their funerals and found natural burials offer the chance to explore what living and dying means in a spiritually fulfilling way.

The Dalton Woodlands Burial Ground, near Burton-in-Kendal Cumbria UK, is a 30 acre mature woodland, a quiet and restful place to be buried. Francis Mason-Hornby, the registrar there, is a straight talking, compassionate man, open-minded and accommodating to what people want.

Natural burials are an environmentally sustainable alternative to cremations and churchyard burials. If you respect the natural world, a woodland burial is the chance to take a positive step at the end of your life.

To discuss that rite of passage, in advance, offers a chance to step consciously towards death, prepare how you want your life to be celebrated, how to mark your departure for those left behind. It can be a point of coming to terms with the end of an illness or old-age.

It can also alleviate the stress for others who have to plan and prepare at the disorientating time of grief.

My eight years of coaching gives me the skills and depth of experience to ensure we will plan the ceremony you want. My interest lies in you expressing your life and anticipation of death. How you want to do this and who you want involved is the focus of our meetings. I would hope to meet any family or friends you would want to participate to ensure the smoothest experience for us all.

I can write anything for the ceremony, help you to write something, read it or merely orchestrate the ceremony while others read and speak.

Celebrant

civil celebrant north west englandI am an independent celebrant, based in north west England. I work with people to create authentic ceremonies to celebrate and mark their rites of passage in life.

I devise and deliver Weddings, Namings, Vow Renewals,
Birthdays and Launches. More details on my ceremony making are here.

I can travel easily to Cumbria, Lancashire and  Yorkshire. I’m also able to travel farther, depending on the occasion. Get in touch and ask.

My work as a writer and coach underpins my approach to being a celebrant. I am an active listener and aim to clarify exactly what you want for the ceremony. It is the dynamic between me and you that lays the foundation for your ceremony. The process will be creative, engaging and energising, as enriching as the event itself.

I was trained in 2013 by Sue Gill and Gilly Adams, of the Dead Good Guides. They are both well-respected secular celebrants who promote the artistry and creative element of ceremony.

I have devised and delivered events and ceremonies for over ten years, for festivals and community events. Becoming a celebrant fuses my love for words, occasion and collaboration.

“Each something is a celebration of the nothing that supports it.”
John Cage

Vow Renewals

strawberriesA wedding anniversary is an opportunity to renew vows made – five or fifty – years previously.  A ceremony acknowledges the time you’ve shared and your commitment to a joint future.

If you married abroad, a Vow Renewal Ceremony can provide a
opportunity for you to celebrate with your family and friends.
Email: sehymas at a gmail dot com

Birthdays

birthdaysBirthdays, especially the big 0s, are worth marking. Either for a handful or hundreds of loved ones, I will devise, with you, a unique ceremony that will celebrate you and embrace your past and future.

Once devised I can hold the space, run proceedings and keep an eye on timings so you fully enjoy your party.

Or I can help you devise your own personalised ceremony and once  it’s decided upon, provide you with a script and other prompts for a friend or family member to run.

Example A 50th
Outset
The Birthday Girl had booked the venue and was now wondering if she actually did want a party. It all seemed rather daunting. Although she knew she wanted to mark her birthday somehow. We talked about what was important to her: her friends, celebrating the spiritual and creative elements in her life, her connection with the environment and her philosophy of recycling. We also established she wanted a small ritual that had a discreet place to the evening, that, on further investigation, would involve everyone and focus on her.  And a poem to convey growth. By the end of our conversation she announced how much she was looking forward to the night.
Outcome
I made small planters, filled with soil, and topped with a cardboard leaf, found seeds that would grow from that time of year and took enough candles and lighters etc.
On the night I welcomed people by inviting them to light a candle and decorate the path to the venue with them in candle bags. At the designated time, I drew the crowd together, introduced the ceremony, explained what we were going to do. Everyone was given a seed to plant in their planter and asked to write a wish on the leaf for the Bday Girl. Those that wanted read out their wishes as the Bday Girl glowed and growed from the goodwill. The poem was read out – by her oldest friend there – and she responded to the crowd with a few beautiful, heartfelt words she’d prepared. And then there was cake.
She took the wishes and seeds home, to read again and watch as the seeds germinated over the following weeks.
Simple, authentic, inclusive and long-lasting.

I understand the ceremony has to be absolutely right for you and am happy to meet or talk over the phone for you get to a feel of my style before booking me. Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions without any obligation to continue.

Fees will vary depending on the nature of your event, beginning at £50 for consultancy & devising only.
Email: sehymas at a gmail dot com

Launches

event management

Within my role as celebrant, I make launches with other people, for their projects and books.

Whether launching a book, building, art exhibition or other project, the moment of making it public signifies both the end and beginning of two momentous journeys. A launch is the hinge of the creation’s existence. It is the bridge between the private and public life of what has been made.

I have launched, if not a thousand, many many books – of fiction,
poetry and anthologies – print and electronic.

These events have taken place in art galleries, libraries, a maritime museum, a judges’ lodgings and village halls. Each subtly took on the personality of the book, and proved, rightly, to be celebratory
affairs, whether among a few friends and colleagues or public events open to whoever is curious.

I also launch buildings, homes and art exhibitions, ensuring that the
essence of the work is reflected in the nature of the occasion.

As with all my ceremony work I am keen to collaborate as much as possible to define, design and deliver exactly what fits to purpose.

Fees will vary depending on the nature of your event, beginning at £50.
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Namings

dollYour child’s name will be the word they hear more regularly than any other. Its sound and rhythm will inform their identity.

The sound and rhythm of the naming ceremony will be present in the environment, rituals, words and music you choose for the occasion.

Welcoming this person into your life, and that of your family and community, can also include your hopes for them as well as for yourselves, your knowledge of them, other people’s understanding of you, and vows you may wish to make. Whatever you choose to focus on, we’ll create a loving event that truly reflects your feelings.

Fees start at £150.
Email: sehymas [at] gmail [dot] com for more info

Weddings

secular wedding north west englandIf you’ve chosen to get married, to make public your commitment to each other, then you’ll want a ceremony to suit your personalities and reflect your union and aspirations for it. A secular wedding is limited only by your imagination. You can have it wherever you choose, with a visit to the registry office before or after
ceremony itself.

My role is to help you create your own customized ceremony – the setting, readings, music, poems, vows and any rituals – for this rite that is both intimate and public. My aim is to make it as
individual as you and your relationship.

If you are wanting a civil ceremony and would like to explore what is possible, then I’d be honoured to contribute to your event, and work with you with care and attention to every detail.

I am not a registrar and the ceremony I make won’t be legally binding, but works in conjunction with a registrar. It is ideal if you have a particular building or outdoor space in mind that isn’t registered for marriages.

I understand this ceremony has to be absolutely right for you and am happy to meet or talk over the phone for you get to a feel of my style before booking me. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions without any obligation to continue.

fees begin at £350
Email: sehymas at a gmail dot com

A truly inspirational jewellry designer is MacMillan-Clare

I also offer Vow Renewals