A time for joy and celebration as the family tree grows
Previously in Ireland, a child was required to have a baptismal certificate to gain admittance to their local school. A new law has done away with this old custom, and freed many parents from the obligation of a baptism. Now, parents can choose a naming ceremony as a way to mark their baby’s arrival with a celebration that is innovative and creative.
A special welcome for your newborn
During a Humanist Naming Ceremony, the family gathers to welcome the baby into the family, to bestow a name, and to wish the baby a long and happy life. The baby is given ‘guide-parents’: two people nominated to promise their support to the child throughout his or her life. The ceremony includes music, readings and poems selected by each parent to celebrate the appearance of a new branch on both family trees.
Planning a day to remember
A naming can take place in your home or in a hotel or a venue suited to accommodate the number of invited guests. It can be in your garden or your favourite park or even in a woodland. The choice of location is yours.
As your celebrant, we’ll meet in person or through a video chat before the naming takes place. Working together, we’ll create a unique, personalised script for the occasion. On the day of the naming, I’ll arrive at the venue at least 30 minutes before the ceremony to note any changes in your script and to spend time with the star of the celebration.
Let’s mark the beginning
of your child’s life
The incredible joy brought by the arrival of a new baby to a family deserves to be celebrated not simply with a party, but with a ceremony that uniquely marks the baby’s birth. Together, we’ll create a meaningful naming ceremony that welcomes your baby as one of your own family and embraces the newborn in your community. Get in touch and we’ll discuss the possibilities for your baby’s humanist naming ceremony.
Welcoming & Re-Naming Ceremonies
Wonderful occasions need to be acknowledged, celebrated and given a special ceremony which marks a change in a family or indeed in a human being.
These occasions might involve a new addition to a family, an adopted child for instance whose bonding with its new family may involve a new name to mark the beginning of a new life within a new family and within the wider community. Geraldine will happily work with the family to celebrate and rejoice such happy family events.
Being a human being as we all know is a complex business and sometimes a person may decide that their gender identity feels at odds with aspects of their birth body. Some people with gender dysphoria have a strong desire to live according to their gender identity rather than their biological sex. This may involve a change of name and the need to share that change can be part of a Renaming Ceremony. An occasion where family and friends bear witness to these changes and celebrate them.