The Celebrants Network Inc - BLOG

ASK A CELEBRANT BLOG 

In 2016 let's strengthen family and community networks by celebrating with ceremony.

Let's celebrate:
o Civility (being civilized - cooperation, compassion, care, courtesy, chivalry)
o Creativity (celebrate and encourage different talents and interests)
o Companionship (cooperative partnerships, family and friendships, groups)
o Citizenship (respect, equality, valuing justice –“a fair go”, free speech, diversity and community)

The Celebrants Network Incorporated is a  non-profit community celebrant based association that upholds the important role of civil ceremony in Australian society, supports marriage & celebrant equality and promotes 'adding a ceremony' to all important life stages and changes.

FAST FIND A CELEBRANT - Party With A Purpose, Ask A Celebrant, Funeral Options, In Memory Of and Cvivl Celebrations Network Directory are projects of TCN Inc.

Ask a celebrant how to choose one of our celebrants  for your next special occasion.

By Roslyn Macfarlane,
Access Civil Ceremonies
 http://www.accesscc.com.au

Having just passed our 42^nd anniversary I have been giving some thought to having a ceremony to celebrate all of our years together.  Like most couples our journey through life has had some twists and turns,

some ups and downs and still, together we have created some wonderful memories.

Raising a family and having a successful, long term, loving marriage is an event worth celebrating and waiting for the major milestones to celebrate that makes sense in some ways, but when I think about it, there is no really good reason to wait.  Every year we have together as a couple and as a family is a blessing.  Fate can take us down any number of roads, and all too often we find ourselves wishing that we had acted on our good ideas sooner, rather than later.

So where do you begin to prepare for such a celebration?  Looking at the history so far; where it began, the roads you have travelled and the things that inspired you along the way can be a good place to start.  Bringing in elements of your life that have had significant impact such as holidays, professional achievements, social involvements and family.  If you  think a ceremony to celebrate your anniversary is a good idea then there are some wonderful ideas on the internet. 

Visit: Wedding anniversary ceremonies

ASK A CELEBRANT BLOG: How often do we think "things" when considering a present for our parents, children or other family members and friends? Why not think about experiences that can never be repeated, that can bring pleasure to everyone, and to which everyone can donare the money to make it happen?

For the 55 and over age group "things" become less important, more things to dust and more things to say goodbye to when the time comes to downsize into a smaller place.

So why not make the celebration itself the gift?

READ MORE

ASK CELEBRANT BLOG:

Add a ceremony to your celebration!

Intuitively we know that a celebration is a way we mark important rites of passage.

Many Australians celebrate important events though, by having a booze-up and throwing in a few words towards the end.  We have forgotten that the food and drink were meant to accompany the speeches or ceremony, not be the celebration itself.

Without a meaningful core to the gathering, a celebration may be boring and unsatisfying and more likely to lead to excessive eating and drinking.

Ceremony is an Act of Love - quality time spent together, a way of re-establishing that meaningful core to the event.

READ MORE

ASK A CELEBRANT BLOG. Merry Christmas! Poem by TCN Melbourne Funeral Celebrant and Poet Graeme Cook.

This is the little verse I put inside a Christmas Card for all the families I have dealt with through each year. It's called  Merry Christmas! I’ll Be Home For Christmas.

Graeme Cook 2007

How do you and your partner celebrate your anniversaries? And what is it that you celebrate - the anniversary of first meeting, first moving in together or more traditionally, your wedding anniversary?

First thing of course is to remember the date!  This can be tricky as many of us know but it is usually greatly appreciated so well worth doing! 

Perhaps you are looking for a different and special way to celebrate this year.  Maybe it is a significant anniversary for you for some reason. It may be the number - 1st, 5th, 10th, 25th, 30th, 40th and 50th wedding anniversaries are often deemed more special,  But it may also be something else that is special this year - overcoming difficulties together, starting your family, having the last child leave home - the reasons are as individual as the couples who are celebrating.

Why not think about engaging a celebrant from the The Celebrants Network (TCN) to design and conduct a ceremony that meets your individual needs?  You can find a celebrant near you on our website .  You can also find lots of information about different ceremonies for anniversaries.  

Our TCN founder Rona Goold and her husband Steve had their 21st Wedding Anniversary last year and they asked TCN Celebrant Robyn Lenahan to conduct a ceremony for them.  

Rona made a YouTube video using pictures from their wedding to use as part of the ceremony, an example of an original idea that had significance for the guests at their celebration.  You can watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua6Qv2Yn5_o&feature=youtu.be and enjoy the original song "I Wish For You" performed by the Two Macs which was first performed at Rona and Steve's wedding.

Tell us about your ideas for celebrating anniversaries by commenting below.

Our new TCN mobile website has loads of information on celebrants, ceremonies and celebrations for everyone  

http://www.celebrations.org.au/everyone. Topics such as - Fast find an Australian celebrant; Weddings and love ceremonies; Celebrating every stage of life; Ceremonies for loss and grief; Celebrations supplier directory; Win with a gold rose celebrant; About civil celebrants; About civil ceremonies.

Subscribe to this free Ask A Celebrant - TCN Blog now on : http://www.celebrations.org.au/everyone

Published by Robbie Fincham, Civil Celebrant based in Melbourne, Vic & Chairperson of TCN Inc.
www.robbiefincham.com.au

The song "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes was the finale music played at Suzi and Evan's Commitment Ceremony, I had the very great privilege of conducting in January 2013.  What a fitting song it was too, as you will understand when you read about this most remarkable love story, which has spanned more than 35 years!!

Post by Rona Goold
TCNA Coordinator
www.celebrants.org.au

Whether you received a special message today or not, isn't it great to have a day to acknowledge the value of love and friendship in our lives?

My husband and I will be married 20 years this year, so he did need the prompting of the local radio talk show to remind him that today is a special day :-)

From Rebecca Skinner

The Celebrants Network Incorporated Blog Coordinator
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Celebrant Member
www.celebratinglifeschapters.com

From every wound there is a scar, and every scar tells a story. And it's not just a story about pain and suffering, it's also a story about survival, the learning process, and seeing the silver linings.

We often treat troubles as real negatives. They come into all our lives with no notice and we don't want to have to deal with them. But the reality is, troubles can often open the door to many positives.

From Rebecca Skinner

The Celebrants Network Incorporated Blog Coordinator
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Celebrant Member
www.celebratinglifeschapters.com

Why do we wait until birthdays, Christmas or New Year's Eve to celebrate? I believe life is too short not to celebrate EVERY moment we can.

Without making the effort to mark a particular moment, life passes us by far too quickly and achievements and blessings can so easily get missed along the way...

From Rebecca Skinner
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Celebrant Member
The Celebrants Network Incorporated Blog Coordinator
www.celebratinglifeschapters.com

Where does the word 'ceremony' come from? It's believed to be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin caerimonia meaning "awe, reverent rite" and it first entered our language in the 14th Century.
 
Ceremonies are an incredibly powerful tool. They announce and create change; they signify the importance of an event; they help us move into new stages of our lives and they connect to our past while reaching into the future. And importantly, they connect us with people who give meaning to our lives.

From Rebecca Skinner
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Celebrant Member
www.celebratinglifeschapters.com

Many cultures have celebrated a young person’s ‘coming-of-age’, and it is still marked in the Jewish community as a Bar and Bat Mitzvah, when boys turn 13 and girls 12 and in Korea by the Confucian ‘Gwallye’ from ages 15 upwards. But in Western cultures this tradition is all but ignored. The Celebrants and Celebrations network thinks it is high time to reintroduce this important ceremony.

With families so geographically scattered and all of us leading such busy lives, it makes the gathering of family and friends all the more important.
 
That’s why the Celebrants and Celebrations Network encourages people to Party with a Purpose.

The association’s doesn’t believe we should have to wait until an occasion like Christmas or a wedding to get together, but that we create our own special occasions, organising  memorable and meaningful celebrations that touch hearts and enhance lives.