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Robertson, Pat

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Location: Edinburgh
Region: East of Scotland
Covering areas: East of Scotland
Phone: 0131 672 1107
Mobile: 07714 995 346
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

About Me

Until I retired I had spent all my working life in the NHS. trained as a nurse, midwife and community nurse.
The last 20 years were spent working in different communities, urban and rural , but mainly in the Lothians, and also a few years in England.
Being in that privileged position I was witness to the " miracle" of birth, the great joys, stresses, traumas, illnesses or sometimes deaths that life brings with it.
What never failed to touch me was people's capacity for hope, recovery and optimism.
It never occured to me that religion or any supernatural force could possibly orchestrate such events; they were too random and surely often too cruel.
I think Humanism and the beliefs it holds true especially the concern for respect, dignity, personel responsibility and our obligations to each other is a truth I believe in.Not because I am told to but because it feels right for me.
No bolt of lightening moment for me but a gradual realisation that I lived life in a certain way, and that it fits into the Humanist view of things.

Funerals

Attending my first Humanist funeral ( my dads) was one of those days that stays with you, forever in the minds eye.Full of that cold dread of the unknown, we huddled together, a large family in an uninspiring building ( later used for Pricess Margaret's cremation) wondering if we had chosen the right way to mark the loss of someone we loved so much.
It was a truly remarkable day.
It was the very last thing we could do for him and we wanted it to be better than just ok. From the moment my husband joined my brother, brother in law, nephew and two strong nieces to shoulder the coffin, through the grandchildren bravely standing together at the front, to the poetry of Rosetti and Burns and us singing that football standard " You'll never walk alone"it was for us the very best way we could say goodbye.
I have never forgot those feelings.Three years later I trained as a Funeral celebrant . I have done over two hundred ceremonies since then.
The work is immensley rewarding. People have such varied lives and we all have a unique story fashioned by all our experiences, the good and the not so good.
Nothing can bring back the loved one, but maybe celebrating that they lived, that they were loved and have left indelible marks on us is cause to celebrate their passing in an honest , dignified and significant way.
It is important that there are choices for people to mark this rite of passage in a way that is meaningful to them. It can make a " good " funeral.

Namings

These are the ceremonies we do least and I have conducted about ten namings so far; but this month I will do three.They are a very relaxed way of welcoming a new life into our world.
Older siblings often help out with poetry readings, songs and the odd dance too. The emphasis is on joy and people have made the day memorable with pledges and their hopes for their childs future.
Parents often have a very clear idea of how they would like the ceremony to be.Other times we are asked to make suggestions of suitable poetry, music or symbols they may like to use.
Again these ceremonies are unique and highly personal, as is each child.

Same Sex Affirmations

Weddings

At the moment I have no thoughts of doing extra training as a wedding celebrant .There are many good men and women throughout Scotland who are very busy as wedding celebrants offering a truly unique and personalised ceremony, sometimes in the most unusual venues.


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