Ceremonies and Rites of Passage...Baby Blessings, Coming of Age Ceremonies, Weddings

and Funerals

Ceremonies mark the important milestones and turning points in our lives. There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to our hopes, dreams, accomplishments and experiences, and many of us wish our ceremonies to reflect this too.

Ceremony exists to support us through conscious transition and change. This support extends to our families and close ones. Whether it’s a naming ceremony, coming of age, wedding blessing, funeral or service of remembrance, each of us has the right to be the starting point of its creation.

It is my privilege to form a unique and individual ceremony to honour that which matters to you and speaks of your intentions and beliefs. Your input is the inspiration from which the ceremony will evolve, and I offer my support throughout the process.

I became an Interfaith Minister because I have always been a 'spiritual' seeker. I've come to realise that there are many of us for whom there are no specific building, religion or tradition that we can call our spiritual home, that's it's something less tangible than that and highly individual. 

Because of the individual nature of the process costs and arrangements are varied. I offer a free half an hour face to face initial consultation (within West Sussex, outside of this area I charge travel expenses) and I’m happy to answer any of your questions and enquiries over the phone or via email.   

You can get in touch with me at alison.stoker@gmail.com and if you are interested in staying in touch, I send out a weekly email full of inspiration, spiritual practices and reflections. To be kept in the loop Just head over the yoga page and fill in the sign up form. 

'We are all just walking each other home.' Ram Dass

Events-

A Good Goodbye- Funeral wishes workshop- date in the autumn of 2023 TBC

Talking about this final rite of passage face to face with the people closest in our life can be hard- really hard. They might bat the conversation away with words like, ‘don’t be morbid,’ or ‘we don’t want to think about that.’ But leaving some clear ideas about your last wishes relieves the people around you of some of the pressure in what is undoubtedly one of the most stressful times.

Funeral wishes can be as extensive or simple as you like. They often include music, readings, poems, instructions about flowers and/or charitable donations, a choice of funeral director, location of the funeral and wake, even the food and drinks served, the clothes people are invited to wear and some idea of where we would like to be buried or cremated. Funeral wishes don’t exclude other contributions, they act as a template which can then be added to by loved ones. 

I’m inviting you to join me for a gentle, thoughtful and practical approach to writing your own funeral wishes.

What we’ll cover and do together…

-Why it matters to us to leave these wishes.

-Your experiences of funerals, both positive and negative.

-We’ll meditate together and connect to what message, or memories, at the deepest level, we want our funeral to embody.

-We’ll go through a Funeral Wishes Form (provided) together and there will be time to fill in as much or as little as you like.

-And we’ll drink tea and coffee and eat cake- because every rite of passage needs refreshments!

My hope is that this will be a soulful experience and that you’ll leave with some funeral wishes written down and a life affirming knowledge that with this done you can focus on enjoying this unique experience we call ‘life’.

The cost of the workshop is £15, payable on booking. All refreshments and all resources will be provided.