Pen is my daughter. In 2020, she invited her closest friends and family to her Coming Out Party! The occasion marked a time in Pen's life to celebrate truly accepting herself, and offering a time for gratitude to those who make her feel loved and safe.
As I had completed my celebrant training, I offered Pen a few ideas to include symbolism and ceremony into the event. She loved the suggestion and was blown away by everyone's participation, thoughtfulness and care.
Symbolism and rituals can add powerful emotive and memorable elements to any event. I am so delighted Pen now recalls this day as one of the highlights of her life to date.
After many years of being 'out of the closet' to the world but still firmly in denial within myself, I finally found self acceptance and decided to share the occassion with my loved ones, who had helped me on my journey. Mary made the event memorable by helping bolster my confidence to be myself and calming my pre-event jitters. She came up with a way my loved ones could give me personal notes of encouragement to keep, and a way my loved ones could create a beautiful symbol of their support that I can have on a shelf and see every day as a reminder.
My party was a great success and had so much more depth of emotion than…