Mike:  I completely agree with you.  If I  may advance a reckless
simile here - these formerly religious ceremonies that have been
stripped of their religious content seem to be  like tofu bacon for
vegetarians:  the taste and texture of meat without the nasty subtext
of what is behind and inside: harmless, but also kind of pointless.
But this is just my personal opinion.   (Maybe this is a minority
opinion among humanists, I don't know.- it would be an interesting
survey)

Alex

On Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 8:01 PM, Mike J <[address removed]> wrote:
> Kevin: ?I too am not big on ceremony. ?I actually don't like ceremony. ?That
> is why I didn't comment regarding this question. ?Part of why I left the
> UU's was because I didn't like getting up to sing then sitting down then
> getting up to sing then sitting down.... ? I don't like Christmas, Easter
> etc and not only because they are religious holidays but because there are
> so many traditions attached to them. ?I realize that I am in the minority
> but I find ?doing things just for ceremony or tradition tiresome.
> Mike
> ____________________­____________
> From: kevin <[address removed]>
> To: [address removed]
> Sent: Sun, September 19,[masked]:23:01 PM
> Subject: RE: [secularhumanism-7] next Citizen question
>
> Thanks Michelle and Simon for the comments. It is great that we have these
> kinds of ceremonies but for me personally I wouldn't be into it - but then
> ceremonies in general are not my thing. I wrote about baptisms and commented
> that I don't like them - not so much for the religious symbolism but the
> assumption that their kids will continue with a particular faith. I also
> mentioned the baby naming ceremony but again mentioned that parents
> shouldn't assume kids will adhere to their parents worldview - educate them
> about belief and non-belief.
> I wanted to make sure I was not seen as singling out only religious people
> but I will probably, unintentional, end up upsetting humanists as well...
>
> Kevin
>
>> Subject: Re: [secularhumanism-7] next Citizen question
>> From: [address removed]
>> To: [address removed]
>> Date: Sun, 19 Sep[masked]:49:19 -0400
>>
>> The couple I married last February was very keen to hear more about
>> "welcoming" ceremonies, as I called them in our meetings. I expect to get
>> a call from them in a year or so once they have children.
>>
>> Not only do they plan on trying for biological children between them, but
>> they also hope to adopt and they loved the inclusive nature of the term,
>> 'welcoming' so that all of their children will have the same type of
>> ceremony.
>>
>> It is also nice to come together and formally assign what could be called
>> "guideparents" (in lieu of "godparents") to play a part in the welcoming
>> of the child.
>>
>> I am looking forward to building up that part of my officiating work over
>> the coming years. Saving souls is not the only reason to build a
>> tradition. Celebrating the arrival of a child crosses all cultures and
>> there is no reason for it not to be a humanist tradition as well. Major
>> life milestones that affect one's family and community deserve some
>> attention and I think it is nice to have a naming or welcoming or other
>> similar celebration to make it more formal.
>>
>> Little is happier than a celebration of new life.
>>
>> I took the officiant training twice and both times I thought the
>> celebration around children held a lot of promise for positive ritual. Why
>> not?
>>
>> In working on my own drafts of welcoming services, I have tried to focus
>> on the joy of a new life, the promise of the future, but also a theme of
>> acknowledging the responsibility of becoming a parent. I have been working
>> on preparing a little certificate to give out, including a copy for the
>> "guideparents" to sign and I am toying with a design for a baby gift with
>> a happy humanist symbol on it but I have not decided much on that yet.
>>
>> My larger point with all of this is that just because we do not have to do
>> naming ceremonies or baptisms to save people, there is still a desire in
>> parents to mark the occasion, to present the baby, and to reach out to
>> people to help care for the child.
>>
>> This is perhaps more than you need for your response but it might be of
>> use for you to know that these activities are starting to build with the
>> expansion of the officiant program.
>>
>> Michelle Ballow
>>
>>
>> >
>> > Here is the next Citizen question - and they are tailoring it for us
>> > humanists. Excellent - no more "how does your faith group...." kind of
>> > question!
>> > 1. How does your faith group celebrate the birth of a child? (i.e. what
>> > do
>> > the various rituals signify?) and for Kevin: how would secularists or
>> > humanists celebrate the birth of a child? would they create rituals of
>> > their own and what feeling would they express?
>> >
>> > Thanks - hope to see lots of you next week at the Marci lecture!
>> > Kevin
>> > ps - they were late getting these questions out - just got it today and
>> > they need the response by next Tuesday latest.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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