Your Wedding / Marriage Celebrant is
John Hill of Kensington, NSW
Authorised Civil Marriage Celebrant
I am located at:
7 Elsmere Street
Kensington 2033 NSW
Contact Details
Phone/Fax: (612) 9663 3222
Mobile: +61 411 315 533
e-mail: john@civilcelebrant.com
Qualifications and experience:
BA (UNE), B.Rel (Melb)
Master of Counselling (UNE)
Proud graduate of the
International College of Celebrancy
Graduate Diploma of Celebrancy
Most of my working life as a celebrant !
Areas I can get to easily:
Sydney CBD but anywhere in Sydney and surrounds !
What I specialise in:
Civil Celebrations for Lifes most Important Events
Weddings - Renewals - Naming - Funerals (see below) - Other Ceremonies
Counselling - you can read about all these ceremonies on
my other website - www.civilcelebrant.com
My approach to Ceremony and Ritual
Rituals are an essential and basic means for human beings to give themselves and others the necessary messages which enable the individual to stay human. They communicate acceptance, love, a sense of identity, esteem, shared beliefs, solemnity and memorable events. Any ritual contains a tender and sacred moment.
For in that moment a tenderness and sensitivity brings us out of the normal flow of life. We in fact step out of our routines. We touch an event that is truly precious and sacred. In ritual we are participating in something that is profoundly symbolic. We allow the depth of what we feel to shine through and we enter into a myth that touches deep into the human spirit. This in turn moves us into the heart. TESTIMONIALS (on my other website)
I believe that poetry is an essential part of communicating within ceremony e.g.
An excerpt from the marriage of Michael and Alexandra -
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way
because I don't know any other way of loving but this,
in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.
SONNET XV11 by Pablo Neruda
More about John Hill
John Hill has been performing Marriage ceremonies and other "Rites of Passage" since 1968. He brings a wealth of experience, firstly as a priest here in Australia, the United Kingdom and the Philippines and more recently as a civil celebrant in Australia. John is a deeply compassionate and spiritual man who will make your special day unforgettable and endow it with a quality that soars above the ordinary.
He is an Accredited Facilitator of the FOCCUS Inventory (an enrichment program which provides the opportunity for couples who are about to be married to explore and to discover the strengths and areas for growth in their relationship).
Funerals
I consider I have the education, the background, the understanding, the experience and the compassion to assist your family at this
important time.
Basic Structure for Funeral Ceremonies - to work with you to co-create a funeral that has meaning and substance. Funeral ceremony structure could go like this --
Introduction
The Biography / Eulogy
Option of Reflection / Prayer
Texts of Literature (Readings)
The Committal
Making the Arrangements
First - make contact with your funeral celebrant. He can visit the home, share with the family and make arrangements with a Funeral Director, the cemetery and crematorium regarding the time, location and all else involved in the funeral preparation. It is a time of grief and the families of the deceased need someone to turn to for help in times of such distress - and even trauma. For all sorts of reasons it is always best to contact your Funeral Celebrant first. (see contact details above)
John Hill is an educated, trained and experienced Funeral Celebrant, a graduate of the International College of Celebrancy. The following poem would sum up his philosophy regarding the sensitivity of funeral preparation.
The Gentle Water Bird
by John Shaw Neilson
In the dim days I trembled, for I knew
God was above me, always frowning through,
And God was terrible and thunder-blue.
Even the gentle flowers of white and cream,
The rainbow with its treasury of dream,
Trembled because of God's ungracious scheme.
There was a lake I loved in gentle rain:
One day there fell a bird, a courtly crane:
Wisely he walked, as one who knows of pain.
Gracious he was and lofty as a king:
Silent he was, and yet he seemed to sing
Always of little children and the Spring.
Pity was in him for the weak and strong,
All who have suffered when the days were long,
And he was deep and gentle as a song.
Long have I learned that all his speech was true;
I cannot reason it - how far he flew -
God is not terrible nor thunder-blue.
Sometimes, when watching in the white sunshine,
Someone approaches - I can half define
All the calm beauty of that friend of mine.
Nothing of hatred will about him cling:
Silent - how silent - but his heart will sing
Always of little children and the Spring.
---
Naming Ceremonies
John Hill will give much more than just a 'run of the mill' ceremony. He has 30 years experience performing naming ceremonies, firstly as a Catholic priest and for many years as a civil celebrant. You can expect an uplifting and spiritual experience that will be deeply memorable. Below you will find the basic structure to help you plan the naming of your child.
Basic Structure for a Naming Ceremony
1. Introduction
2. Readings
3. The Parents and the Child
4. The Blessing
5. The Role of Godparents
6. The Role of Grandparents
7. Conclusion
On John Hill's more detailed website he gives example ceremonies and detailed information on all the main ceremonies -- but also on Counselling and Relationship Education.