The Celebrants Network Inc - BLOG

Response by our TCNA Life Celebrant Member Dally M Messenger III to a Recent Letter

Unwedded bliss

Peter Waterhouse repeats an old slur often told by supporters of formal marriage, that de facto relationships just take the form of some sort of ''holding pattern'' until ''something better comes along'' (Letters, 15/8). My partner and I have been in a loving de facto relationship for more than 25 years, producing two wonderful sons on the way. We have never had any intention of either looking for something better or of getting married.

Congratulations to our lovely Lyn Knorr

Lyn achieves 40 years today as civil celebrant having been appointed in Australia on 24th July 1973, the second Civil Marriage Celebrant appointed in Australia and the first  in Victoria.

Celebrants and Celebrations Network Australia - TCN is privileged to have Lyn Knorr as one of our founding TCN Inc Committee members and a TCN Life Member. 

And with some long-timers at the 40 the Anniversary last Friday of the appointment of the first Civil Marriage Celebrant, Lois D'Arcy.

Lyn shared some of her memories of the Early Days at a 2005 celebrant conference. 

We thank her for her faithful service to the Australian public and our civil celebrancy profession and wish her all the very best in the years ahead.

TCNA is celebrating our Ruby Anniversary of the first Civil Marriage Celebrant in Australia - so I've written a little review via my personal life but this is reflected in over 70,000 marriages each year in Australia.

Truly an Australian success story :-)
http://www.celebrants.org.au/ask-a-TCNa-celebrant/stories/celebrating-civil-celebrants-ruby-anniversary/

And one we take for granted every week  around our amazing country.

Let's celebrate

Rona Goold

Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia
Coordinator.

This weeks featured celebrant is Daphne Cole from Canberra ACT.

I am a Canberra mother of three, married for over 30 years. I love helping couples create a personalised service to celebrate their special wedding day.

I perform weddings, reaffirmation of vows and baby naming ceremonies in locations in and around Canberra and the NSW South Coast. I plan to continue my passion well into the future, operating from the beautiful coastal town of Tomakin.

I enjoy travelling to nearby towns to do ceremonies and think that Canberra and nearby NSW surrounds have some of the most beautiful formal and informal venues to celebrate special occasions.

I love visiting the chapels, gardens, lakes, beaches and home backyards and helping people choose the ceremony that is right for them and their situation.

This weeks featured celebrant is Dianne Sherrington from Townsville North Queensland.

I have worked in the meat industry for 30 years the last 10 years was in the training program, as I have a Certificate 4 in Assessment and Workplace Training, I was conducting in a class room of up to 50 people all inductions for the new employees. Teaching new employees skills required for the task they must performed.

I feel this role has given me the opportunity to feel relaxed and confident to stand in front of a large crowd and perform my ceremonies.

This weeks featured celebrant is Wayne Loughrey from Perth Western Australia.

For the last 40 years I have been involved in the Australian agricultural industry, firstly in NSW and Victoria finally settling down 26 years ago in WA with our family in Lesmurdie. My wife Rosemary and I have been married for 38 years this year and we have both travelled to various countries throughout the world and have now just about completed our list of places to travel. I am and have been involved in many community groups such as Rostrum, Apex, Local Bush Fire Brigade, Masonic Lodge, RSL, and previously a member of the management committee of the South of Perth Yacht Club.

Being a  Civil Celebrant means that we are creating Ceremonies of love for  people within the community.  Ceremonies that Recognise and Celebrate the milestones in a person’s life. 

It does not matter whether it is a Marriage ,  Naming,  Commitment, Anniversary, Birthday, Rite of Passage, a Funeral or Memorial, a  Ceremony attached to any  Celebration adds meaning and enables the love to be shared by all who attend.

We Celebrants love what we do;  We love being able to create meaningful and memorable ceremonies for  people;  and in the words of Leo Buscalia, “We don’t love to be loved, we love to love!”  

On the 9^th and 10^th June in Melbourne at the Amora Hotel in Richmond, there will  be the opportunity for Celebrants to join together  to share experiences, to learn, to get to know each other and to celebrate and to share the love. 

It would be wonderful to see lots of Celebrants at the conference.  To find out more about this go to:

http://www.celebrations.org.au/blog/entry/general/invitation-celebrant-conference-not-to-miss

Proudly sponsored by:

Relationships Australia

From Roslyn McFarlane
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Member
The Celebrants Network Inc Vice Chair

http://www.accesscc.com.au/

When you think of a wedding, one normally thinks of the Bride wearing a beautiful white dress, a stunning bridal party dressed in colour co-ordinated clothes, amazing flowers and a wonderful reception at a  fancy wedding venue.   Often the choice of words,  music and vows  will be very predictable.  But it does not have to be that way!

“A Loving Heart is the Truest Wisdom ..” Charles Dickens
Free On-Line Memorials in our "In Memory Of" section

Introducing ASKACELEBRANT''s newest section "In Memory Of" on our www.celebrants.org.au website.

Do you have a loved one or friend, or respect a community member for whom you would like to make a tribute for their life?

Every day there are short poppies that stand tall in the lives of families and communities who never receive a public acknowledge in the "Obits" of even the local papers. ASKACELEBRANT wants to hear some of their stories.

Rona Goold
Coordinator Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia
Civil Marriage and Family Celebrant

Last year our family had a tragic loss when one of my husband's nephews died while snorkeling. He was 26.

His life just opening up to all the wonder of life's creation and opportunities. "Life cut short too soon, wise, soft . . ."#

It was a bitter, bittersweet time to review his life. Seeing Sam as baby, a toddler, child, teenager and young man brought back the memories hidden in the mind and heart.

His ceremony strengthened resolve to treasure all our loved ones, with awareness that life is short. To honour all those who give a part of who they are, to become a part of who we are. To be present to pain and loss. To support those who grieve beyond ending. To be present to the love within us and around us. And yet to face a new dawn with courage and hope for one more day of life's journey, knowing our turn comes inevitably to join the mystery of death.

Civil ceremonies tap deep into the human need to honour life, to share our stories, our pain, our truth and  hope. They may or may not acknowledge the specific religious beliefs of some present, but they all aim to treasure life.

Easter time can be for everyone a time to mourn and treasure the past, reflect upon presence and the present, and renew hope for the next moment.

May this Easter bring peace of mind and heart to all - with a touch of delight in the shape of an egg!

# Words texta-d on Sam's coffin.

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Post by Meg L’Estrange
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Member
Melbourne Victoria
http://meglestrange.com.au

Can a funeral be fun? 

You bet! 

For some families this is the best way to honour the person they have lost.

Bo:  Bo was a larger than life personality and stories of his antics abounded.

This weeks featured celebrant is Meg L'Estrange from Eltham Victoria.

I am Meg L'Estrange, a celebrant for all occasions, a former teacher and school counsellor, and a family woman with three adult sons.

While I was teaching I experienced the death of my mother. When my dad had died two years earlier, she was so distressed by the funeral he was given, which was totally inappropriate for him, that she said, 'Let no man of the cloth come near me when I die!'