Weddings, Funerals, Ceremonies, Stories, Mindfulness, Practices

28 Mar 2025 | Birthdays

Kathleen’s 70th

Canberra in summer is a delight. Meandering through the leafy streets in the old suburb of O’Connor always makes my heart sing. Vegetable gardens in front lawns, unmowed nature strips, neatly manicured fern landscaping, old homes next to mansions. I was down for the weekend to celebrate a dear friend,…

20 Mar 2025 | Auslan

Auslan Only Gathering

I was happy that I completed my Cert 2 and 3 in Auslan online last year. It was a mammoth effort to keep up the classes and assessments online. During the year, I attended a few of the local Coffs Harbour Chat and Coffee meetings held once a fortnight and…

06 Mar 2025 | Poetry

Lost

Lost Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known. The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you….

04 Mar 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Celebrating This Precious Life: Honest Conversations about Living and Dying 2025

We come and we go; Death is our life companion— Thousands of leaves fall. from ‘The Impermanence of Being Here’ by Wendy Haynes STARTS THIS COMING FRIDAY 7TH MARCH. 9-11am AEDT As we come into autumn, and the leaves fall, and cyclone Alfred makes it way to reach out land…

03 Mar 2025 | Ceremonies

Wendy’s Retirement from Marriage Celebrancy!

30 years! The story of my retirement as a marriage celebrant, the rituals, the party, the photos and the music! (PS I will still be conducting funeral ceremonies by request!) A few photos as a teaser for the story next month!

01 Mar 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Hard Stories to Tell

‘His family said, Jason* was a good boy, he just had a lot of stuff happen to him; and now after all these years of family life, it is hard to say goodbye. He will be greatly missed….’ The ceremony I delivered for this young man was very carefully compiled…

21 Feb 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Farewell Mary Johnston

“As the matriarch, Mary’s presence was a constant source of support and guidance. She was the person family members turned to in times of need, offering wisdom, comfort, and a listening ear. Her reliability and acceptance created a foundation of love and security for her family who hold her in…

21 Feb 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Raise a Glass

Raise a Glass by James Mooney. The Cook family shared this poem at their father’s ceremony today. Do not mourn me, don’t drown me in black cloth and quiet whispers. laugh loud, drink deep, tell the stories that made me live, remember the bad jokes, the nights that stretched into…

20 Feb 2025 | Relationship

Love at First Sight

12 minutes. Do you believe in love at first sight? This romantically poignant film features wonderful performances from Sir John Hurt and Phyllida Law in an Oscar® short-listed short film. Love at First Sight, a wondrous film about living into ‘the day is today’.

20 Jan 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Grief and Love are Intertwined

“Heath was cheeky, talented, and soulful. Heath’s deep love for his sons never faltered, and his pride in them was constant. Heath’s love endured, and he would want nothing more than their happiness and success. However, with deep loss comes grief and, at times, anger—often arising from the love and…

14 Jan 2025 | Ceremonies

From Warrior to Elder

I received an inquiry online today: “I’m wondering if you’ll be hosting any upcoming elderhood weekends. I’ve done the … boyhood-to-manhood rite of passage, among other things. However, strangely enough, while they have an elder community, no one has as of yet come up with a warrior-to-elder rite of passage…

Paddle Out

10 Jan 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Time to Mourn by the Sea

‘After the unexpected death of my teenaged daughter’s biological father, with whom we’d had very little contact for several years, I asked Wendy to support us in a ceremony to acknowledge the importance of the event and help us to grieve. I had imagined something reverent and ceremonial, perhaps with…

06 Jan 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

In Memory of Owen Larsen

Owen was a man of stories and contradictions—a fiercely proud father, grandfather and great grandfather, a passionate enthusiast of horseracing, a skilled builder, and an unapologetically particular man with a sharp wit. Words of Remembrance “Owen was deeply proud of his family, even if he didn’t always show it in…

04 Jan 2025 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Betty’s Garden

“Bet’s passing marks the end of an era for your family. It is a profound transition, as Nev and Bet have been the centre around which your lives have revolved for so long. The absence of Bet signals the beginning of a new chapter for all of you. May you…

10 Nov 2024 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

I am I, You are You.

Death is … A family recently chose this poem by Henry Scott-Holland to read at their son’s funeral. Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you…

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