|
|
|
Unitarian lay chaplains provide a variety of significant services for people outside of our congregation.
Whether you are not religious, crossing religious boundaries, or following an alternative spiritual path, we are here to help you mark life transitions with a meaningful celebration. Lay chaplains offer child welcomings, weddings, funerals and other special rituals.
For the significant events in your life, we work with you to design a celebration that is respectful of your values and traditions. We work from our Unitarian principles and draw on many sources of inspiration.
We are sponsored and trained by our congregation and the Canadian Unitarian Council, and licensed by the province of Ontario to officiate at marriage services.
Lay chaplains are not ordained ministers and do not provide pastoral care or personal counselling services. We do provide knowledge and experience in creating and facilitating rituals with spiritual depth.
Ritual is a symbolic way to restore harmony after a major life change. Rituals provide a moment to recognize a change in life's pattern, whether it is the joyful impact of the birth of a child or the sorrowful loss of a loved one. Rituals help us accept our new roles, as parents, wedded partners or or mourners. They provide a moment in time and space to honour and accept a new way of being.
While lay chaplains spend most of their time officiating at weddings, we also help design rituals for other life transitions. These may include:
As well as leading these rituals, lay chaplains are also available for consultation if you wish to lead your own ritual but don't know where to begin.
To contact the lay chaplains at the First Unitarian Congregation of Waterloo, write to chaplain.waterloo@unitarians.ca
Unitarian lay chaplains are licensed by the province of Ontario. We provide services for people outside of traditional religion, or wish to have an inter-faith service, or who have no religious ties at all. We are proud supporters of marriage of same sex partners. Our chaplains are happy to officiate at pagan ceremonies. We hope to help you create a marriage rite that expresses your values and honours your community and family traditions.
For more details of the type of service we offer, see our
See our Wedding Guide
Fee: $250 (rehearsal $75)
There are mileage fees of $0.40/km for ceremonies held outside of Kitchener-Waterloo.
Unitarian services offers an opportunity to create a meaningful and honest testament of the life lost to us and to honour the feelings of those left behind. Lighting candles, eulogies, and words of loss, love and hope help shape a memorial. We hope to create a service that is sensitive, honest and true to the person being remembered.
It is often the case that those paying their last respects come from a variety of spiritual traditions or no tradition at all. Unitarianism celebrates religious diversity and offers a unique sensitivity when planning a service.
Please see our
Sample Funeral Resources
for more information.
Fee: $250.
There are mileage fees of $0.40/km for ceremonies held outside of Kitchener-Waterloo.
The birth of a child is a great and joyful event. There is value in marking the moment with a naming or welcoming ceremony, with parents, family and friends formally accepting the new life in their lives. The celebration may be large or small, formal or informal. Rituals may include responsive readings, the water of life, or presenting the child with a symbolic gift.
See a sample service.
Fee: $200.
There are mileage fees of $0.40/km for ceremonies held outside of Kitchener-Waterloo.
