My role as a Humanists UK celebrant is to make your ceremony about your child and to help you to celebrate the love and support of the family members and friends you choose to include in their special day, creating a treasured memory of a joyous gathering.
I love hearing your stories and crafting what you tell me into a narrative to which everyone attending the ceremony can relate. It’s great to see the joy on your guests’ faces and hear their laughter, as I remind them of your unique journey to parenthood, the thrilling arrival of a new little person, the delight they have brought into all your lives so far and the adventures that little person has already had, as they embark on their own life’s journey.
It's not ABOUT ME but this is my story:
My parenting journey began as a single mum. Once she arrived, my initially perturbed parents were besotted with their granddaughter. Sadly, both died when she was very young. By then, I had married and, when my firstborn was four, her baby sister came along.
Having grown up as an only child (with its pros and cons) I felt privileged to have two daughters and to see them develop their own special bond. I did my best to bring them up to express themselves freely and to ask my opinion (and that of others) but to make their own choices. They are both now adults and, although my husband and I are long-separated, we are still joint parents and we all value family get-togethers. My older daughter is married with two sons, so I am enjoying the new experiences of being a grandmother, having two little boys in the family and seeing them interact with each other, their parents, their other (English and Italian) grandparents and their two aunties.
As for the non-religious part, I was brought up by a C of E Mum and an agnostic Dad with an Irish Roman Catholic background. I was ‘converted’ by the school Christian Union and spent many years with one foot in C of E formality and the other in evangelical fellowships. I gradually conceded that neither felt real to me and made the long slow journey to what I eventually realised is known as humanism; a belief that this life is all there is and we have to make the most of it, and that you can be a kind, caring person without the threat of punishment or the promise of reward.
I would love to work with you to shape the ceremony you want to celebrate your child. Call or text me on 07736 461616 or e-mail julia.bolden@humanistceremonies.org.uk to start the conversation.
