On Ritual :

from Ann

“Ritual has power. It creates a space and a moment to focus on the meaningful events in our lives. It joins individuals into a community that can acknowledge, honor, and strengthen our deepest sense of humanity. The need for ritual makes us long for familiar forms that link us to the past and for new words that reflect who we are today and what we hope to become.

My services, and my site A Rite to Remember, are designed to offer everyone the opportunity to shape and share in ceremonies that nurture life and to make language that echoes in memory, brings light to the present and helps us to thrive through lean and plenty.

Together, through ritual, we define our lives and speak our hearts during time-honored events. Ritual allows us to express the deeper meaning in aspects of modern life that deserve community celebration and support. Through my work I seek to create appropriate forms for all aspects of life that bond communities and families and to enhance our appreciation and patience for the splendid cycle of life and growth.

The Process:

How do you put sense and the sacred back into the passages of life? How do you create ceremonies, rituals or events to mark an important step in your life and genuinely reflect how you feel about it? How do you get the message across to those you care about and really involve them? My goal is to help you choose the symbols and expressions of your own life and to make your occasion everything it deserves to be.

In creating A Rite To Remember, my approach is based on three essential processes:

• Trust: Together we build a working relationship that can explore the meaning of a ceremony, its purpose and its context.

• Personalization: Together, we find the words and actions that capture the significance of the moment and explain it in ways that are comfortable and natural to you.

• Connecting: Together we fashion a celebration that speaks your thoughts and feelings to your family friends and community while inviting them to listen, join and share.”