By Karla Combres 

(Originally published on www.karlacombres.com/blog)

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Marking Life Together: The Transformative Power of Community Ceremony

There’s something quietly profound about coming together as a community to mark a shared experience, whether it’s a challenge, a loss, a milestone, or even a collective achievement. In my years as a celebrant, I’ve witnessed firsthand how ceremonies, large or small, simple or complex, can knit the web of connection tighter, reminding us that we are not alone.

I often reflect on an online vigil I co-facilitated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan. Hundreds of people from across the province gathered virtually to honor losses and share hopes for the future. We were a diverse mix of cultures, languages, and spiritual perspectives. Music, poetry, candle-lighting, and moments of silence wove together a shared experience that left participants feeling seen, held, and connected.

What struck me most was how the ritual allowed people to express grief and hope in ways that words alone could not. The online platform, surprisingly, became a space for intimacy. People shared their stories in the chat, responded to one another with compassion, and lingered long after the official ceremony ended, as if reluctant to leave the circle.

Many Forms, One Purpose

While that ceremony was large and logistically complex, community ceremonies don’t need to be grand or elaborate to be meaningful. I’ve also had the honor of designing and leading a community baby loss ceremony at the Shared Garden, a section of our local cemetery dedicated to the memory of children who died during pregnancy and shortly after birth. 

There, we honored life’s beauty and fragility through the metaphors of wildflowers and butterflies.

We acknowledged the ways grief irreversibly changes us through a fire release and healing ritual.

We were moved by poetry, music, and moments of shared silence and prayer.

And we closed by inviting in the spirit of joy, hope, and community, blowing bubbles on the grass, a joyful and tender act shared by all ages. Laughter and tears mingled as siblings, parents, grandparents, and friends joined together in remembrance.

Other times, I’ve facilitated grief rituals around participatory art installations, inviting people to explore themes of ancestry, grief, and creativity in ways that are personal yet collective.

The Heart of Community Ceremony

At their heart, these ceremonies do a few things consistently:

• They create space to acknowledge shared experiences. A ceremony signals that what we are feeling or celebrating matters, that it is worthy of attention and care.
  
  
• They offer structured ways to express emotion. Through ritual, music, silence, or spoken words, participants are given permission to engage fully with their feelings.
  
  
• They cultivate connection. Even in a group of strangers, ceremony can create a sense of “we,” a shared understanding that can be grounding, comforting, and transformative.
  
  
• They honor diversity while uniting purpose. Thoughtful ceremonies can weave together different cultural practices, spiritual traditions, and personal ways of marking life, showing that inclusion strengthens rather than dilutes the experience.
  
  

Every community has its own rhythms and needs. The beauty of ceremonial work is that it is adaptable, it can be a small gathering in a backyard, a neighborhood vigil, a participatory art project, or a large online gathering. What matters is intention, being deliberate about creating space for reflection, expression, and togetherness.

In a world that often prioritizes speed, productivity, and individualism, these moments of communal pause remind us that we are part of something larger. Ceremony allows us to feel our shared humanity, to honor what has been lost, and to celebrate what we carry forward together.

Whether you are part of a small circle of neighbors or a larger community, I encourage you to consider how ceremony might serve you. Even a simple gathering with intention can transform ordinary time into something sacred. In coming together, we find strength, solace, and connection, and the quiet, enduring magic of community.

About the Author
Karla Combres is a Legacy Guide and NTI-certified Life-Cycle Celebrant. From birth to earth, she helps people navigate life and its transitions with presence, clarity, connection and meaning. She offers 1:1 support, custom ceremonies and community offerings. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook, or learn more at: www.karlacombres.com.