About Maria
Medway-based Celebrant providing services and spiritual ceremonies throughout Kent,
London Boroughs of Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Bromley,
and the northern most areas of Surrey and Sussex.
Holding close the Essence of your much-loved Entity
Welcome
There are a few reasons why you may have stumbled across my website.
You maybe looking for someone to weave words which will walk you through a loved-one’s life, capturing elements that were so important to them in order to compose a very personal and fitting memorial service.
Firstly, please accept my condolences. At the very time you may just want to shut yourself away with your own thoughts, you find yourself with seemingly no end of things to do. Let me lighten your load.
If you are searching for someone who will help you write your own story, leaving your loved-ones in no doubt as to who and what you feel have enriched your life, I would be very honoured to be that person.
Maybe you are looking for some spiritual grief work. I can guide you through a beautiful Passing Over Ceremony.
Have you ever asked yourself why some people become Funeral Celebrants? Religious Ministers often say they felt a calling to their ministry. It’s often with hindsight that a Civil or Spiritual Celebrant realises that they, too, were on a path to this privileged role.
I have always held an interest in people and I have fulfilled quite a few roles over the years that have equipped me with the skills that, coupled with my character, help me to support people through their significant moments and the ritual of a funeral or a memorial is, undoubtedly, one of those life transitions that requires considerate handling.
Throughout my life, I have been creative. Using movements or words to choreograph tales of thoughts and emotions.
Over the last forty years I have had the privilege of gaining experience in environments from corporate personnel and training to supporting personal development through community initiatives and my own community-focused Dance group. The last decade has been mainly spent in the NHS, supporting families that live with either Learning Disabilities, Dementia or Cancer and I have also been a Ceremonies officer, officiating marriages throughout the County of Kent. They were all fulfilling roles, supporting people or coaching people in different ways whilst they taught me much about the human spirit.
I have been a Civil Celebrant since November 2022. A member of the Association of Independent Celebrants (AOIC), I trained with Civil Ceremonies Ltd and achieved a Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy recognised by the National Open College Network (NOCN) and have since completed their Child and Baby Funerals Training as well as their Spiritual Funerals Training which was led by Dawn Kinsella, the Director and founder of Sacred Celebrant’s Academy. I also completed the Celebrant Plus course with Coffin Club UK and the Dying for a Cuppa – The Masterclass with Katie Costello, End of Life Support Services. Giving the very best support to you is very important to me and I shall continue to attend other events and development opportunities.
Another thread that has weaved through my life from an early age is poetry; expressing my feelings in verse. Words are one of the main forms by which we, humans share and grow.
I can support you in commemorating and celebrating your departed loved-one with a ceremony you feel will be most fitting. Share the elements of their entity with me and I will help you to capture their essence as you pay tribute to their life at the final farewell.
If you are, for some reason, wanting your own story written, I can help you with that too. After all, you know yourself better than anyone else and I can help you express the memories you want to leave for your family and friends when the time comes.
If you are planning a funeral for a loved-one, rest assured that the ceremony is choreographed to a bespoke script with your loved-one’s essence at the heart of every part of it and steeped in your influence. After the ceremony, you will receive a commemorative script with all the words spoken from all the contributors / elementals during the ceremony.
Whether you have chosen a Crematorium Chapel, Cemetery, Natural Burial Ground, Community Space or a Private Space to hold the Memorial, I can support you in creating a beautiful Ceremony and help you find services that will suit your needs.
I grew up within an extended family that included Christian and non-religious members. I am always exploring my spirituality which encompasses many belief systems. I have the deepest respect for the diversity of spiritual, faith and human elements of people’s families and communities. What matters most is the love felt for, and the nature of, the person who has died.
If you, too, have a history with religion, you may be wondering how much of a nod to it, if any at all, you want to make in this ceremony. The fact is you can include whatever you feel it needs. It can be as serene or as entertaining as you want it to be. Let’s have a chat.
