Chaplains
Shoshanna, Mara, and Susan, our Lay Chaplains, are flexible and resourceful officiants. From your first contact, you will find us easy to communicate with, professional and conscientious. We will offer you a great variety of suggestions and choice for the different parts of the ceremony and are happy to help you craft the service that you have always dreamed of. The ceremony you have in mind may be anything from elegant and traditional to lighthearted and casual. We will make sure that it suits your personal style, values, family traditions and spirituality.
Our Lay Chaplains are licensed by the Province of Ontario to perform marriage ceremonies. We also offer ceremonies of other kinds, such as renewal of vows, handfasting, memorials, funerals, child dedications or blessings, house blessings, or pet memorials. Each service can be custom designed in collaboration with those who are directly involved.
Meet our Chaplains
-
Shoshanna Green
When I sit down with you to plan a ceremony, whether it's a wedding, a funeral, a welcome for a newly arrived child, or something else, my goal is to help you create the event that’s right for you. You may already know just what you want, or we might explore the possibilities together. We can incorporate and honour your traditions, and we can be playful and inventive, reflecting what’s special about you.
I’m delighted to celebrate love, honour grief, and respect change in all their forms, and to serve people of all faiths, genders, and sexualities. Maybe you want to celebrate your retirement, claim a new or true name or gender, bless your new home or say goodbye to one that you’re leaving. I love helping people mark all the moments of their lives. Whether you’re joyful or grieving, ending or beginning, I look forward to meeting you!
It’s my practice to mask at all times in indoor public settings, to protect myself and others. This means that if your ceremony is held indoors, I will officiate in a mask. I’m happy to take any other precautions you may want, and I’m also happy to officiate outdoors unmasked.
-
Mara Shaw
Life goes by so quickly. Ceremonies open up time and space to allow us to savour the big moments, whether they are of immense joy or shared grief. Together, we create a child welcoming, memorial, wedding, or other ceremony that fits you. It can be simple and straightforward, or one that incorporates your traditions, friends and family, and personal references. We can incorporate readings, music, candle lighting, grandparents, religious references -- or not. It's your service! Like my fellow lay chaplains, I take the time to co-create a ceremony that will be moving in the moment and that you will be glad to reflect back on in the future.
Note: My only restrictions are that all ceremonies centre love and honesty. Outside of that, we can go there. Maybe you're a huge LOTR or Heated Rivalry fan. We can work with that!
-
Susan Young
I appreciate ceremonies of all kinds and enjoy finding the balance of readings, music, and elements of ritual for your significant life ceremony, whether it’s marriage, a memorial or a baby blessing. I enjoy helping you create your vision and expression of your spiritual values and beliefs as we create a unique and meaningful experience for you.
I am proud to represent the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship as a lay chaplain, and as a mindful life coach, I am passionate about practicing awareness and presence. I am grateful to have ways to bring this focus into my life, such as hiking, yoga and wilderness kayaking. I am committed to diversity and inclusion for all folks, and use English as well as American Sign Language to communicate (my son is profoundly Deaf). Contact me to set up a time to explore what you are looking for in your special ceremony.