practical guide to ritualmaking

Confirmation as a coming of age ceremony has deep roots in traditional popular Nordic culture. For hundreds of years Nordic state churches held the key to adulthood. Until 1912 in Norway and Denmark, young people could not legally marry, wear adult clothing or work as adults until they were approved by their parson and confirmed by the church in a public ceremony. A movement in Nordic countries rehabilitated the confirmation tradition by adding a secular twist that gives youth a choice between a religious or a non-religious confirmation ceremony. The first civil confirmation organised by the ”Association Against Church Confirmation” took place in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1915. 
Many Nordic youth opt today for a humanist confirmation to celebrate their coming of age because it represents a proud moment for them and their families. Each year over 10,000 young Norwegians are confirmed in humanist ceremonies held in concert halls, medieval castles, municipal cinemas, cultural centres, city halls and community buildings throughout the country. From the small towns in the south, with their white painted wooden houses, to the urban areas such as Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim to the sparsely populated areas in the far north where the Sami communities live families gather on Saturday or Sunday in late April till late May to see their young people move into adulthood.

Foreword by Isabel Russo, Head of Ceremonies at the British Humanist Association
A unique, hands-on guide to the craft of ritualmaking. Answering the call for new rituals in our secular age, this book recognises the essential importance of rituals to the psychological, physiological and spiritual health of individuals, families, organisations, and society as a whole. The book examines and explains the history, function and place of emerging rituals in different cultures, as well as providing practical guidance for creating your own secular rituals. The author includes examples, risk factors and checklists for the stages of planning new rituals for important life events such as birth, marriage death and public occasions.

Funerals are among the most important life events in Western society, and fashioning a personalized ceremony for yourself or for a loved one is often the most meaningful way to celebrate the life of the deceased. For those wanting non-religious or secular funeral ceremonies, this step-by-step guide begins by identifying what you want from the funeral and showing how you can make it happen.

With sections on society's views of mortality, our need for rituals and crafting the actual ceremony, this guide provides the tools and philosophy to understand, plan and tailor a funeral for individuals. Includes all the tools necessary for the creation of a ceremony, such as a Ritual Profile Questionnaire, checklists, and many other handy resources.

The effectiveness of ritualizing depends more on the senses and sensemaking than on thinking or dogma. Ritualizing must touch the body’s felt sense and effect a felt shift. Coherence with the values and culture of the person at the centre of the ritual ensure that the ritual is right because it feels right. Over the last 17 years, Gordon-Lennox developed, tested and refined a naturalistic approach to the creation of secular ceremonies for the major passages of life. Her training as a psychotherapist, in particular for the treatment of trauma, and her expertise in world religions enriches the approach she summarizes with three watchwords: accompaniment, authenticity and affect.