Saturday, March 19, 2011

Second Naming Ceremony in the Family

Conducted a naming ceremony yesterday. Yes, it rained, as it has most Saturdays recently. But as the ceremony took place at a home, we had shelter on a patio while the family and friends stood inside facing us.

The nice thing for me was the fact that it was a ceremony for a sibling whose ceremony I performed several years ago. So I knew many of the family members by name at least.

The challenge in a second ceremony for the same family is to make sure that it doesn't become a duplicate of the first. In particular, making sure that the certificates that I provide for the Godparents, Grandparents, and siblings, are not the same as the ones I created last time.

I must have learned a few things since conducting the Naming Ceremony for the first child, because there were comments from the participants that they hadn't done that last time.  I consider that a plus.

I do make changes in my ceremonies as I find some things work better than others. Certain elements appeal to some people and are less important, or even not important at all, to others. Most importantly, the people involved in  a ceremony vary from those who really enjoy taking a leading role in the ceremony to those who are more retiring.

The art is in taking into consideration all these things and still create a ceremony that is meaningful and memorable for those present.

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