Humanists aim to draw positive moral values from life that are
based on human experience, rather than God-given. They don't believe
in an afterlife, but think that 'we should try to live full and
happy lives ourselves... and make it easier for other people to
do the same. They consider most thoughtful, considered non-religious
naming ceremonies to be humanist in nature. It is not necessary,
even at an explicitly humanist ceremony, to have a Humanist celebrant.
Humanist ceremonies are increasing in number each year. They are
popular with people who have no religious affiliations.
The British Humanist Association describes its ceremonies as 'dignified,
caring, and totally personal'. It publishes a practical guide to
help you organise your own naming ceremony, 'New Arrivals', which
includes the following:
Advice
on where and when to hold your ceremony
Appointing
'mentors' or 'special friends' (the humanist equivalent of godparents)
A
basic framework for the ceremony· Ideas for poetry and
prose readings
Two
sample scripts
Special
ways of marking the occasion
And the rest is up to you!
A humanist naming ceremony can take place literally anywhere -
from your front room to a mountain top. The rites performed have
no legal status at all. A humanist ceremony is completely secular
(i.e. non-religious with no hymns, prayers or Bible readings).
This can be a particular advantage for parents from different
faiths. Rather than plump for one tradition at the risk of alienating
the other, inter-faith parents can design a ceremony that emphasises
what they have in common. A celebrant trained and licensed by
the British Humanist Association usually conducts humanist naming
ceremonies, but you can ask a friend or relation to do it if you
prefer.
Once you have decided on a date and time, you need to do the following:
Unless
you have chosen a friend or relation to conduct the ceremony, contact
the Humanist Association on 020 7430 0908 to find someone to act
as a celebrant and for more information, go to www.humanism.org.uk
Once
you have found a celebrant, decide on a venue, ideally somewhere
that's significant and personal to you as a couple. Most parents
choose to hold the ceremony at the start of a celebratory party.
Decide
on the type of service you'd like and what you would like to say.
The job of the celebrant is to help you create a ceremony that's
personal to you. You can write the entire service yourself to
reflect your love for and commitment to your child, and your hopes
for their future welfare and happiness with help and advice from
the BHA, you can adapt one of the ceremonies they can suggest
to you. They also have suggestions for readings and music. The
formal ceremony can be as long or short as desired, they usually
last about 20 minutes.
Don't forget to encourage contributions from other adults and
children!
If there are Grandparents they will want to come, and its always
a good idea to check whether key guests - such as the god parents
- will be available for the big day before confirming any bookings
or ordering the invitations. Children are almost always honoured
guests at Christenings.
The baby is the star of the show at a Naming. You may want to dress
him or her in a traditional style long gown and shawl, but you may
also choose something completely different to emphasize the non-religious
aspect. The parents, god parents and guests should take their cue
from the occasion and venue - a more formal service and church will
demand more formal wear, whereas more informal attire can be worn
at a more relaxed church and service. Formalwear here usually means
lounge suits.
<< back to Birth
Visit
confetti.co.uk for more articles on baby names, baby namings and
christenings. |