By Carrie Batt
Carrie Batt shares her story of bringing ritual and ceremony to the disability community.
Over the past few years, Carrie has learned with and from Be Ceremonial through our free monthly workshops. She has applied this ceremonial knowledge to her work as a disability-informed end-of-life doula offering grief support services to the disability community.
I was drawn to Be Ceremonial as it offered my work uncharted territory. The words ritual, ceremony and disability are rarely paired together within the disability community. Be Ceremonial has taught me to appreciate the value of ritual and ceremony. I, in turn, have created welcoming and inclusive ceremonies for our disability communities.
Initially, I had to reframe my own views about ritual to embrace what opportunities are derived from ceremony. I welcomed Megan’s advice of not needing to do it perfectly as I created unique and personalized rituals for each attendee. By being open and welcoming to this work, I have incorporated the Be Ceremonial app into my services and I now facilitate in-person and virtual ceremonies for people with a wide range of disabilities.
Currently, the world of ceremony continues to be unknown and untapped within our disability communities. However, introducing this topic and creating a variety of ceremonies remains inspirational to all who attend. This introduction has allowed participants to feel welcomed, included and accommodated, all while navigating a new experience. These inclusive ceremonies have had an intense impact on all who participate. Their attendance has broadened their awareness of the visible and invisible moments of change that ritual and ceremony offer.
It has been a privilege to create ceremonies and rituals for people with a disability. The experience has been enriching, and I am honored to play a role in impacting how someone feels before, during, and after a ceremony. One of the highlights has been witnessing a paradigm shift after my ceremonies. The level of comfort and peace of mind that ceremony and ritual provide is paramount.
Our most popular ritual activity involves a prayer shawl. With the prayer shawl wrapped around their shoulders, participants are to write, draw, express wishes, intentions and thoughts of their deceased loved one.
For those who require something more appropriate, I supply words, symbols, letters, and fabric to choose from. These chosen items are then placed on the shawl. As they are being placed, participants ring the chimes in memory of their deceased loved one. This tangible ceremony has never failed to be an emotionally intense and soulful experience for everyone.
Another that is gaining in popularity is our sand ceremony. With white sand in front of each of the sitting participants, they choose a small stick that is used to trace the initials of their deceased loved one.
Once the initials are legible, everyone decorates these initials using pebbles, greenery, bright colors or dark sand, all the while keeping in mind their wish, intention, prayer or hope. To complete the ceremony, participants add their thumb print in the sand.
Be Ceremonial inspired me to dream and to know that there are no exclusions in ceremony and rituals. Through this work, I have acquired the confidence and knowledge to create my own rituals that bring value and comfort to my clients. My exposure to Be Ceremonial’s work has allowed me to bring disability representation to the world of ritual and to provide inclusive ceremonies where everyone has a chance to learn and grow.
The way a ceremony or ritual is put together requires allowances for all types of disabilities. There is no one ritual or ceremony that is done the same way. I incorporate my 35+ years of professional work experience in the developmental disability sector to bring each person a very personalized approach to the ceremonies and rituals I create.
I work from my main ceremony templates and then adapt to the person’s needs. Often, this is very fluid, as I may have planned for one thing to occur yet must adapt to ongoing changes. For example, someone may feel the need to rock back and forth, which self-soothes the person, just at the moment they were about to choose their prayer shawl. We adapt to everyone’s needs, knowing that the end result is to create a welcoming environment that embraces the impact and power of ritual.
I have developed a true calling and love for creating ceremonies and rituals that suit the needs of our disability community. I am most grateful to Be Ceremonial for all they have taught me, which in turn has allowed me to gift it forward to a community of people that are near and dear to my heart: the disability community.
You can learn more about Carrie’s work by visiting SEOL CARE
