Virtual Ceremonies

This is a difficult time for everyone, with Covid 19 limiting the way we gather. When we lose the ability to come together physically to celebrate, to grieve, to acknowledge the milestones and rites of passage we each face, it can be devastating. Yet, our social distancing and gathering restrictions do not mean that we can no longer honour moments of change with intention and meaning. There are ways to come together, even when we can’t meet physically. We’ve offered some ideas to draw from, and we’re available to help you customize your ceremony in this challenging time.

Seeking Ceremony has partnered with New Narrative Memorials to offer virtual memorials and funerals. We’ll meet with you online and explore the type of ceremony you would like to create. We’ll ask you questions and get you to share stories about the person you lost, and then we’ll offer unique rituals that can be done before, during, or after the virtual memorial. More than ever, we need to find ways to come together and honour our grief and the stories of those we lost. Let us support you during your time of loss.

Virtual Funerals

Finding time to honour the life of someone who died and process their death is integral in the grief journey. And, it's not always possible to be there physically. You don't have to miss out on the healing that can come from a funeral or celebration of life during this challenging time. There are so many ways that we can bring people together to remember, share, honour, and acknowledge how much impact a single life can have. Grief is universal, and moving through that grief with community is essential.

Virtual Weddings

A wedding is so much more than two people joining together. It's a coming together of family, of community. It's words being spoken out loud, stories shared, advice offered, and lots and lots of hugs. And yet, so much of what makes a wedding powerful is in the intention and the delivery. Finding creative ways to engage people from a distance might be challenging, and yet there's an opportunity to surprise and even delight people with the invitation to become part of your ceremony from afar.

Virtual Graduations

Graduation time is filled with celebration and acknowledgement, and so many rituals. Not being able to gather during this time can be very difficult, but there are many ways you can incorporate the rituals and ceremony aspects into your life, without having the opportunity to all gather together physically. Whether you're graduating preschool or high school, university or a specialty course, there are so many ways to bring ceremony and ritual to the end of one chapter so you get a proper send off to the next.

Virtual Ceremony Ideas

Virtual candle lighting ceremony

Have everyone find an unlit candle and designate a specific time for everyone to light it at. People can send photos or videos of the moment if you’re not all together online, and give everyone something to say or offer while they light the candle. This could be a wish, a memory, a hope for the future. Something that connects people beyond the screen.

Storytelling hour

Invite people to send in stories that honour the person or moment. Give them a format to follow (length, theme, a question to ponder). Choose a time of day that holds significance and invite sit and read the stories out loud to those you can gather with. You can do this on a video chat, or record it and send it out to people after. Or simply hold this precious time for yourself.

Physical objects

Think about something the person you lost loved, and invite everyone to find one and sit with it. Did they love golf? Consider having everyone find a golf ball and write a name or word on it. Hold that golf ball close – in your pocket, in your car, by your bed. Or go down to the beach or a river and find a stone and write a word on it – you can throw it into the water or bring it home and put it somewhere special. Attaching meaning to a few sacred objects can help make grief feel more tangible.