Rites of Passage

I have had the privilege of being a part of many memorial services. Most of the services I have been a part of included opening the floor for friends and family to share. I love how the stories layer, one on another, to provide such a rich portrait of a life.

I have also had the privilege of welcoming new members and dedicating a child. What joyful rites as we celebrate together!

I have yet to do a wedding. Our congregations, sadly skew to concerns around the end of life, but I look forward to some beginnings!

My time as a chaplain taught me the value of good ritual. When I was first asked to do baptisms in the case of fetal demise, my religious background had not prepared me well. My thinking shifted when another chaplain told me that this was the only rite the family would have with this child–there would be no birthdays, no prom, no wedding. I began to understand how important it is to mark the important moments of our lives. Good ritual, good rites, come out of our stories and we pause for a moment to recognize we are in a holy space and to reach for what we need.