Blessing It All, livre ebook

• Early reviewer promotion through advance copies to encourage reader reviews and generate buzz.
• National review outreach to trade and print publications (PW, Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal, Foreword, New York Times) and online (Spirituality & Practice, Book Riot)
• Social media campaign featuring blurbs and reviews of the book as well as designed graphics of select excerpts on publisher’s Twitter feed (@skinnerhouse), Instagram page (@skinnerhouse), Facebook page (/skinnerhouse), Tumblr page (@skinnerhousebooks), and Pinterest (@skinnerhousebks)
• Advertising in print publications (Great Reads section in Sojourners and full-page ad in Publishers Weekly) and online (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Sojo mail)

• Expansive and contemporary—these rituals cover a wide range of life transitions not included in similar resources, including topics such as blessing a union of more than two partners, changing names and pronouns, getting a prosthesis, surviving sexual assault, and ending a marriage, among others. While some of the moments included in this collection are not often recognized because of social attitudes, these rituals thoughtfully honor them.
• Meets a growing need for ritual outside of traditional settings—during the pandemic ritual broke free of the congregational setting, creating an appetite for creative, powerful, and authentic rituals that people could do with family and friends and communities without professional religious leadership
• Designed for everyone—these rituals are suitable for community, family, and individual use, as well as for religious settings. They are designed to be led by anyone inspired to do so—trained clergy are not required.
• Vetted for accessibility—these rituals have been vetted by an accessibility expert and the editors provide additional guidance to facilitate accessible and inclusive rituals for a wide variety of participants.
• For readers of all faiths and those who are spiritual but not religious—the book empowers people to claim ritual for themselves outside of traditional faith community settings and without traditional religious beliefs.
• Diverse—these rituals are created by diverse contributors and the book includes discussion of misappropriation and general advice for successful rituals.
• Empowering—these rituals empower participants to find purpose and meaning during times of change and uncertainty, joy and celebration, inspiring resilience and personal growth.

Introduction

Our personal lives and the lives of our communities are marked by moments of transition and transformation. As individuals, we grow up, we move, we start new schools and new jobs, we begin and end relationships, we have children and if we are lucky we get to watch them grow, we discover more about who we are, we lose people and pets. As communities, we honor people entering new life stages, we acknowledge harm and seek repair, we reckon with natural disasters and national traumas, and year after year we mark the cycles of the seasons. As humans, we grow and we change, we grieve and we celebrate.

Often we mark only the big moments—birth and death, becoming an adult and committing to a partner. And yet, these are not the only moments that touch our lives and shape who we are. In this book, you will find rituals for those other moments, for the moments that come around again and again—in the cycle of the year, in the cycle of life, in the cycle of the universe. With this book, we invite you to bless it all—the big and the small, the happy and the sad, and everything in between.

The rituals in this book are for moments that are ordinary and profound, tender and heartbreaking, joyful and celebratory, and often a little bit of each. They are for moments of transition and loss, transformation and growth. They are for communities, congregations, friends, small groups, families, and individuals. They are meant to be done in church sanctuaries and basements, in living rooms, in the woods, in the streets, in hospital rooms, in backyards and online, because we know that the moments that we need to ground ourselves, to connect with something larger than ourselves, and to mark a loss or a joy happen anywhere. These rituals happen where our lives happen, wherever people or families or communities gather, because we know that is where we encounter the holy.

What you’ll find in these pages ranges from standalone blessings to full liturgies. The rituals in this book were written by a wide variety of Unitarian Universalists—ministers, religious professionals, and laypeople. The vast majority of our contributors have lived experiences of the circumstances for which they wrote the rituals to offer depth and authenticity, and have generously shared their experiences in hopes that they may speak to others in similar circumstances.

This book is for you: for worship leaders and religious professionals, for families and loved ones, for parents and children, for all who have rejoiced in new life, who have mourned a loss, who have struggled to find the words to name what transformation was taking place in your hearts. May you find in these pages connection and commitment, inspiration and invitation, a blessing and a balm.

Introduction

Handle with Care: Context and Covenant for Rituals

Practical Tips for Rituals

Permissions and Guidelines for Adaptations

Rituals for Individuals and Families

Grounding and Centering

For Daily Reflection

For a New Year

For Everyday Adventures

For Discernment

For Entering and Exiting Silence

Milestone Moments

For Preparing to Give Birth

For Adoption

For Weaning

For Starting at a New School

For Life Transitions for a Person with Intellectual Disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder

For Coming Out

For Affirming Names and Pronouns

For Release from Prison, Jail, or Detention

For Retirement

Partnership

For the Union of More Than Two Partners

For Acknowledging Community in a Wedding

For a Blended Family

For Separation or Divorce (for Both Partners)

For Separation or Divorce (for an Individual)

For a Partner Near the End of Life

Creating Home

For Blessing a New Home

For Bidding Farewell to a Home

For Blessing a Temporary Home After Disaster

Blessing Our Bodies

For Assisted Conception

For Abortion

For Planned Hospitalization

For a Hysterectomy

For Beginning Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy

For Gender Affirmation Surgery

For a Service Dog Partnership

For an Assistive Device

For Head Shaving during Chemotherapy

For a Loved One with Dementia or Cognitive Decline

Grief and Memory

For Losing a Wanted Pregnancy

For a Baby Who Has Died or Will Soon Die

For Blessing a Body after Death

For Blessing a Space Where a Loved One Has Died

For the Dedication of a Memorial Bench or Tree

For the First Anniversary of a Death

For Burying or Scattering the Ashes of a Pet

Rituals for Congregations and Communities

Healing, Hope, and Blessing

For Mending a Broken Covenant

For Honoring Grief and Gratitude

For Letting Go

For Those Living on the Threshold of Significant Change

For Honoring Elders

For Carrying Hope after Collective Loss

For Honoring Our Connection to Water

For Saying Goodbye to a Sacred Space

For Breaking Ground on a Building Project

For Blessing a New or Renovated Church Building

For the Days following a Natural Disaster

For the End of a Natural Disaster Season

For the First Anniversary of a Natural Disaster

Seasons and Cycles

For Blessing Backpacks

For Beginning and Ending a Congregational Year

For Celebrating the Harvest

For Coming Out Day

For Veterans Day

For Transgender Day of Remembrance

For the Season of Creative Dormancy

For Grief during the Winter Holidays

For the Winter Solstice

For a New Year

For Earth Day

For Acknowledging Mother’s, Father’s, and Parents’ Days

For Pride

Working for Justice

For Blessing the Organizers

For Direct Action

For Nourishing Justice Makers

For Lamenting and Setting Intentions to Heal White Supremacy Culture

For Blessing a Congregational Black Lives Matter Banner

For Survivors of Sexual Assault and Harassment

For Trauma in the News

Crafting Your Own Rituals