Celebrant USA Foundation
& Institute’s Library
Lilianna’s
Sweet Sixteen Party
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Celebrant, Kim Kirkley
[Suggestion shared wit and wisdom: every one who attends
will be given a pen and an index card on which they will write some bit of wit
or wisdom that helps them in their life. At the end of the ceremony, each
person reaches into a “hat” and picks a piece of wisdom to take home.]
Introduction:
Welcome
everyone. Today we gather together to celebrate Lilianna
Russel’s Sweet Sixteenth birthday.
For thousands of years ceremony has played a key role in all societies around
the world, particularly at the times of major or significant transition in
people’s lives. These ceremonies or rites of passage assist people in taking
that step. From birth our minds and spirits are slowly shaped by a set of
values, customs and mythologies specific to our time and place; they give our
lives structure and meaning. The most important spiritual values are usually
expressed in ceremony. Tonight we gather to honor Lilianna,
and to celebrate with her as she moves through this rite of passage on her
sixteenth birthday. This is the completion of sixteen years of growth and
learning and she is poised at the beginning point of a new stage in her life,
perhaps the most exciting and challenging segment of her life.
This celebration reminds all of us that ‘we cannot live forever in a steady
state, as many may wish, but we can transform, over and over again, to better
meet life’s changing demands. Even as some of us may miss the child that Lilianna once was, we know that for Lilianna,
her family and friends this is a day of celebration! This ceremony is a moment
when we let Lilianna know that we are gathered here
to tell her, that we, her family and friends, are really glad that she is part
of our lives, that she is a very special and talented person,
that we support her and we love her.
Now we welcome Lilianna’s older sister, Mia, to offer
a libation – a type of prayer from many African traditions – for this happy
time!
LIBATION
[We say “Ashe” in the call and response
tradition meaning “And so it is.” It is similar to “Amen.” We can include it if
you wish.]
Mia:
An African proverb tells us that
people who lack the knowledge of their past are like a tree without
roots. So, in the spirit of remembrance, we pour this libation. We pour
to honor the past, so that we may learn from it. We pour to honor the
importance of family. We raise our cup to Creator to show our reverence for the
original source of our lives. We use cool water as a symbol of the continuity
of life, to purify and to nourish our souls. We pour to celebrate Lilianna’s Sixteenth year and her journey toward happy,
responsible adulthood. [Ashe]
It is said that through others, we are somebody. Through this gathering we
acknowledge Lilianna’s family circle, remembering her
heritage and recall those who gave her life. We celebrate her ancestors -- her
mother, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, her father, her grandfathers, and
her great-grandfathers, uncles, aunts, and cousins - the foundation of her
family, immortalized in our thoughts. We celebrate those who taught her to love
herself. [Ashe]
We celebrate all of our elders, whose wisdom we seek in all endeavors; We celebrate Lilianna’s friends
whom she is blessed to have in her life; Her parents who are her primary guides
along the road to adulthood. We call upon family who have passed over or simply
could not be here today. We ask that they be with us in our thoughts. We
celebrate the gift that is Lilianna’s life. May she
always find happiness in her self and her connection to the all that is. In the spirit of love and genuine respect for life, may
she always have the courage to follow her heart.
[Ashe]
Therefore, we cast our libation to the North, [Ashe] to the South, [Ashe]to the East, [Ashe] and to the West. [Ashe] We wish
everyone to leave this Ceremony more blessed than when they arrived. [Ashe]
Lilianna’s two sisters read: “A Family Is”
Mia: A family is a deeply
rooted tree with branches of different strengths, all receiving nourishment
from an infinite source.
Allana: A family is where character is formed,
values are learned, ethics are created, and society is preserved.
Mia: A family is where all members, whether related by blood or by love,
contribute and share, cooperate and work and accept their responsibilities
toward the good of the group.
Allana: A family is where holidays are
celebrated with feasting, birthdays acknowledged with love and thoughts of days
gone by kept alive with fond remembrances.
Mia: A family is where each can find solace and comfort in grief,
pleasure and laughter in joy, and kindness and encouragement in daily living.
Allana: A family is a haven of rest, a
sanctuary of peace and most of all a harbor of love.
Celebrant:
From Jean Bollen, ‘There is a potential hero in every woman. She is
the leading lady in her own life story, on a journey that begins at her birth
and continues through her lifetime. As she travels on her particular path, she
will undoubtedly encounter suffering; feel loneliness, vulnerability, uncertainty and know limitations. She may also find meaning,
develop character, experience love and grace, and learn wisdom. To be a hero on
her own heroic journey, a woman must begin with the attitude that her choices
do matter. In this process of living from this premise, something happens; a
woman becomes a choicemaker, a hero who shapes who
she will become.‘
In her hero’s journey, Lilianna is already acting as
a choice maker. I invite each of us now to take time to think of Lilianna, reflecting on our connections to her. Let
us send her loving energy at this time of transition.
REFLECTIONS
Celebrant:
Her parent’s have shared with me
that she was a colicky baby, then a rather talkative little girl who has always
had an admirable sense of determination. Maybe some of you remember the
mischievous, helpful little girl that Lilianna once
was. Now we will have reflections from those who have been with her since the
beginning – first Lilianna’s father, Tim and then her
mother, Cynthia will speak to their love and pride in Lilianna’s
growth.
Tim:
Cynthia:
SIXTEEN WISHES
To honor the past sixteen years,
Lilianna will reflect upon what each candle
represents to her. As Lilianna shares her reflections
with us, I invite everyone to reflect on your own growth and what has been
important for you. After she blows out her candles and we sing “Happy Birthday”
please stay where you are.
[Lilianna shares her reflections as she lights the candles
and then blows them out. Applause! Singing!]
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
Family and friends, we are going
to make a tunnel of transition – the transition into young womanhood. Please
line up in two rows facing each other, holding your hands over your heads, with
finger-tips touching those of the people opposite.
Lilianna will be sent on her journey from one end by
her mother and father. She will pass through the tunnel touching all our lives,
and will emerge through the threshold into adult life to be greeted, garlanded
and embraced by her older sister, Mia, herself a young adult.
GENERAL
REFLECTIONS
I invite each of you now to come
forward and share your reminiscences of your relationship with Lilianna. [Open mike]
Thank you all for coming and sharing your good wishes with Lilianna.
As the ceremony has now concluded, let the festivities begin!