The quaich is ‘the cup of welcome’
Category
Universal Humanism
Symbolic Gestures: The Candle Ceremony
The lighting of candles can convey more than one kind of meaning. It can be a way of symbolising the coming together of two individuals in the unity of marriage, and it can also be a way to remember the people we love who cannot be with us at this important moment. There … Continue Reading
Let’s do lunch…
I missed the official Chaplaincy lunch this Christmas, but to make up for it, Bulletin, the University’s Staff Magazine, treated me to lunch with one of my chaplaincy colleagues, Irene Cotugno, who is the Baha’i Belief Contact. The Baha’i faith originated in Persia at the end of the 19th century, and it has three core beliefs: the … Continue Reading
No day shall erase you from the memory of time
It’s almost exactly a year ago to the day since my wife Susie and I visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York, where we saw this mural. The phrase is a quotation from Book IX of Virgil’s Aeneid, and it struck me then and now that immortality exists as long as there is memory. It’s … Continue Reading
Chloë and Tim’s Humanist Wedding in Dunbar’s Close Garden
“Thank you so much for helping us make this year the most special year in our lives!” said Chloë and Tim
Willie The Wizard
I don’t know what Willie believed about life after death, but he did make his funeral wishes clear. “Landfill, NO bonfire!!”
Kirsty and Dean’s Humanist Wedding at The Strawberry Barn, Dunbar
Kirsty and Dean were very nearly childhood sweethearts. They went to the same primary and secondary schools, but it wasn’t until 5th year that Dean finally made it onto Kirsty’s radar when they bonded over their shared love of music. Dean was always buying the latest CDs from bands like the View, Pigeon Detectives, and Maximo Park, and he … Continue Reading
The C Word
I’ve had two letters recently from humanists who are exploring the possibility of working in chaplaincy, which is very encouraging. A few years ago, I wrote an article about the problems humanists have with the very idea of chaplaincy and, as things don’t appear to have changed a great deal outside of my own university, I … Continue Reading
Leanne and Greig’s Humanist Wedding at Carlowrie Castle
Leanne and Greig’s story is a very modern fairytale, so – if you’re sitting comfortably – I’ll begin… Greig first proposed to Leanne just three months after they met. OK, it was in Munich, and it was during Oktoberfest, so it’s no big surprise that once they’d both sobered up, they agreed to put their … Continue Reading
Grant and Natasa’s Humanist Wedding at The Secret Herb Garden
We continue to receive nothing but compliments about just how wonderful our wedding and in particular the ceremony was.