Sasha’s Legacy – a guide to funerals for babies
by Nicola DalySasha’s Legacy – A Guide to Funerals for Babies was written by celebrant Nicola Daly, whose son, Sasha Felix, was stillborn in 1998. Drawing from her personal experience, Nicola shares the stories of seven babies’ funerals and offers compassionate guidance on planning and creating meaningful ceremonies for baby loss.
Originally published by Steele Roberts in 2005, the book is now out of print. However, both Nicola and The Celebrant School are committed to keeping it accessible for celebrants doing this important mahi (work).
You can obtain a digital copy, by clicking on the link below. In return, Nicola kindly encourages an optional donation to SANDS (Pregnancy, Baby and Infant Loss Support) as a gesture of support.
Be Fertile With Your Infertility
by Christine Bannan and Winnie DugganThis wonderful resource, co-authored by Celebrant School lecturer, Winnie Duggan, demonstrates how ceremony and ritual can aid one of life’s most heart-breaking challenges. This book aims to help anyone facing infertility, in all its stages and forms, to access options for ceremony and ritual and hence to find their own creative way to a peaceful, accepting place for themselves.
Included are personal stories and examples of ceremony to help you or your clients to create your own ceremony and ritual around infertility, where some of the hurt and sadness brought about by this dilemma can find healing.
This book provides possibilities and pathways to enable this to happen. It is hoped this process will be a creative and effective way to move towards a new freedom in living with infertility.
Order your copy by emailing winnie@lifecelebrant.co.nz and as a TCS student or alumni you can use this TCSDISC code to get it at the discounted price of $10 + P&P.
If you are Auckland-based you can collect your copy from Kathrine.
Down to Earth – The Changing Funeral Needs of a Changing Society
by Marian BarnesMarian was a long-time campaigner for the right of non-religious people to have secular funerals.
This book was first published in 1991, and demand was so high when it went out-of-print, that she made it available for copying and distribution by The Celebrant School. This extremely thorough resource is a funeral classic, covers everything from the historic antecedents of the contemporary funeral, through funerals vs memorials, lowering vs not lowering the casket, considerations around death notices in newspapers, a sample funeral, readings and much more.
A highly recommended resource, this is now being made available digitally, in return for a donation to support services and research into Parkinsons Disease. If you prefer printed resources, this version is easily able to be double-side photocopied and spiral bound.
This is Farewell: Readings and meditations on death and dying
by Pinky AgnewOur beloved celebrant colleague, author, and performing artist, Pinky Agnew, compiled this beautiful anthology based at the convergence of her lifelong love of poetry and her work with grieving families. She launched it on International Women’s Day in 2022 in a ceremony facilitated by Winnie Duggan, who paid tribute to this work of love. In it you will find poems, philosophical reflections and meditations, both ancient and modern, homegrown in Aotearoa New Zealand and from far away shores. It’s a delightful and indispensable resource for celebrants.
Order your copy by emailing pinky@pinkyagnew.com ($35 + P&P) and as a TCS student or alumni you can use this TCSDISC code to get 15% discount.
Finding Whakatauki – their Focus and Function in Ceremony
Workshop recordingThis Zui, led by celebrant, Karen Tangaere, was recorded during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, 2023. It encourages celebrants to explore the focus and function of whakataukī (Māori proverbs), so that they are more knowledgeable and confident to use them in their ceremonies. Before watching the recording, you should first research a whakataukī that speaks to you personally, and have that with you.
Karen Rongokahekeiterangi Tangaere
He uri nō Porourangi e mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa
I greet you as a descendant of Porourangi.
Ko Hikurangi te maunga
Ko Waiapu te awa
Ko Ngāti Porou te iwi
Tūwhitia te hopo! Feel the fear and do it anyway! We hope you enjoy this ongoing professional development session.
2025 Matariki Workshop
Ngā kai a Matariki, nāna i ao ake ki runga – The food supplies of Matariki, scooped up.
The Matariki cluster holds a profound connection to food. Traditionally, its rising signified a time to interpret and predict the abundance of the New Year. Inspired by this proverb, we will craft a virtual feast honouring the stars of Matariki. This celebration will also serve as a space to cherish memories of our departed loved ones and to create a wish dandelion, setting our intentions for the year ahead.
Our ritual facilitator, Darcie Price, has created this new opportunity to help you bring this uniquely Kiwi seasonal celebration into your life, your family and your community to thus enrich the society of Aotearoa-New Zealand. Building on the rituals offered in previous years she will further supplement your kete of ideas and activities that you can include in your local celebrations.
Deepen your knowledge and become part of this evolving national celebration. Suitable for celebrants and anyone curious and interested in what Matariki offers!
2023 Matariki Workshop
The Gatherer of PeopleBorn from its debut at the Celebrants Aotearoa Conference in Ōtepoti, Dunedin 2023, this workshop has been re-recorded as a video resource. It intertwines rich background information including where the name Matariki originates from and what Te Waka o Rangi does each night, with engaging activities, inspired by Matariki and the whakataukī: Matariki Hunga Nui, Matariki, the gatherer of people. It aims to spark your creativity and guide you in crafting rituals that honour and celebrate the season in meaningful, personal ways.
You will need:
- A family recipe
- Pen, paper, string
2024 Matariki Workshop
The Seeds of Matariki are FallingJoin us as we explore the essence of Matariki in this workshop, where you’ll create meaningful rituals that honour the past using wisdom bestowed upon you by a past ancestor, celebrate yourself and the present using nature as your inspiration, and embrace the future. Guided by the wisdom of a whakataukī shared in Dr. Rāngi Mātāmua’s book, Ka rere ngā purapura a Matariki—which speaks of Matariki’s frost and snow bringing people together in unity and love—this experience invites you to connect deeply with the spirit of the season.
You will need:
- A piece of wisdom shared with you by an ancestor
- A tray or plate with a selection of handpicked selection of materials found in nature such as – flowers, stones, shells, sticks, etc.
Fresh Perspectives on Funerals in Covid Times
Workshop recordingFunerals have been perhaps the most disrupted ceremony during the Covid pandemic. Celebrants have responded in creative ways to assist families in finding respectful, loving and appropriate ways to mark the passing of a loved one.
This workshop, facilitated by Winnie Duggan, brought celebrants together to share experiences and refresh ideas. For those who missed the session in November 2021, this video records the 3 main presentations by Winnie (Wellington), Sam Bennett (Taranaki), and Laura Manson (Golden Bay). They illustrate how celebrants have needed to find new ways to engage with clients and assist them mark the death of a family member.
NB: The Covid specific information shared back in November 2021 has since been updated, so check the Government website for current guidelines.