04 Feb Do you offer Humanist Ceremonies?

Do you offer Humanist Ceremonies?

No, and this is an important point to make because while I do hold many of the principles found in Humanism (the value of human life, and the importance of living a good life), I also hold deep spiritual beliefs, which for me means that I feel a sense of connection to something greater than can be explained through our every day sensory experience.

As part of this, I try to live my life from an Animist set of values. This means that I believe that everything in the natural world has its own life force. So, just as people, animals, insects, fish and birds have a life energy, so do plants, flowers, trees, stones, rocks, rivers, streams and mountains.

Do you believe in God?

That all depends on how you define God. I don’t believe in a God who has form, or an all knowing and vengeful male. Or a God who sits on a cloud watching and judging everybody. I don’t believe in a God who sits back and lets people suffer. I don’t believe in a God who says it’s wrong to fall in love with someone of the same gender. I don’t believe in literal resurrections or virgin births. I don’t believe in the eternal fires of hell. I don’t believe any of the holy scriptures are divine. I don’t believe ministers, priests, imams, rabbi, or any other type of clergy are able to have any more of a direct relationship with God than any other person. In short, I don’t believe or support any of the man-made nonsense that exists in organised religion and has been the cause of so much pain & suffering in the world, and I think we should be speaking out against it at every opportunity.

But I do believe in magic and mystery. I believe in parking angels & fairies, witches & wizards and I definitely believe in UFOs & Jedi Knights. I believe in something beyond this world that we don’t have words for, a feeling of something bigger than us that we just can’t explain, a presence that exists within and around us that we don’t have the language to describe, but that pulls us in and allows us to see the world, and humanity at its very best. And if you want to call it God, I’m absolutely okay with that. I also very much believe that marriage is a sacred commitment between two people and that they should be allowed to enter into this commitment in the presence of God, Spirit, Grace, Peace, Love or whichever word they want to give to the idea that they are not alone when making their Vows to each other, but rather they they do so in the presence of something greater than themselves.

Humanism 0n the other hand, doesn’t believe in a universal life force, a life beyond this one or any other type of spirituality or supernatural phenomena. This means that if someone is asking for a Humanist Ceremony, they are looking for a ceremony devoid of any kind of spiritual support, and given that I believe your Ceremony is held & witnessed by Spirit, I feel it would be disingenuous of me to offer these types of Ceremonies. However, I do know lots of fabulous Humanist Celebrants, so if you would like to be put in touch with a few, just let me know.