Liberal scope for celebrations

Monique Chambers seems a little overwhelmed by it all as her mother, Gaylene, lights a candle during the naming ceremony. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

It's a blustery summer Sunday in Auckland when four generations gather to celebrate Monique Julia Chambers' arrival into the world. The one-year-old, all blue eyes and frothy white lace in the arms of her dad, Richard, wriggles inside her family heirloom christening gown as mum Gaylene buries the placenta under a rose bush in the family's front garden.

"Today we are returning Monique's placenta, which nurtured her in the womb, to the earth," says celebrant Nicky Jenkins, adding that the ritual is derived from Maori tradition.

Jenkins is part of the established Christian churches' effort to reach out to people who want to mark their lives with rituals and ceremonies but don't ascribe to the traditional faiths.

Jenkins, employed by the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand as a community celebrant, is herself a "spiritual pilgrim" whose Scottish Presbyterian childhood was followed by explorations of faith from hippiedom to pagan traditions.

She conducts ceremonies ranging from gallery openings to weddings, incorporating any kind of spiritual traditions the participants want, including Mayan proverbs and poetry readings. Christian elements are optional.

"The 20th century was all about modernism, rationalism, not trusting the supernatural, but in the postmodern 21st century people want to acknowledge that there is a mystical and mythical dimension to life.

"The problem is that having rejected the traditional churches, people haven't really got a method for interfacing with that."

Jenkins sees herself as a "portal" through which the church provides an opportunity for people to explore their own beliefs.

"People don't really want to belong to organisations in the same way they did in the past, but I'm convinced that people do need community, and that's a very important part of spirituality," says Jenkins, who also runs children's ceremonies celebrating the turning seasons and Maori festivals such as Matariki.

Jenkins conducted a naming ceremony for Raechelle and Chris Chase's baby, Carlos, earlier this year involving candle-lighting, incense, proverbs and Bible verses. "I'm probably more of a spiritual person than a religious person, and we were planning a party for Carlos, with a tree-planting, but having a ceremony made it so much more meaningful," Raechelle Chase says.

Jenkins also led a course for "spiritual explorers" to discuss faith issues. The students were mainly women over 50, some involved with churches, others more interested in Eastern or new-age philosophies.

It's the same demographic which make up most of the students at courses on Buddhist art at the Auckland community centre Artstation, says artist and teacher Ella Brewer, herself a Tibetan Buddhist. "Art is a great way to connect with people who don't do their learning through reading or listening," Brewer says.

"I've taught professional women, an airline stewardess, medical workers, teachers, gym workers - some Buddhists, some people who have done a vipassana [Buddhist meditation] course, some who are just interested in exploring.

"I think women just take more time for their inner development, while men are more focused on their work, providing for their families."