Our Ceremonies Comfort & Heal

“When you love, you complete a circle.
When you die, the circle remains.” – John Squadra

During this time of profound loss, meaningful personalized ceremony can provide a well of love, strength, support and healing.  When we create a sacred space of grieving and remembrance within our community, our hearts are nourished and eased, our connection to our loved one is honored, and our much-needed bonds with friends and family can deepen.

With compassion, sincerity and heartfelt care—
Roots of Change sits beside you with presence and love, and listens.  We design a moving end-of-life ceremony which truly reflects the wishes, values, emotional needs and cultural background of your loved one and family.

Through conducting in-depth personal interviews with your family, we draw forth your vision for the ceremony–and hold your memories and stories with reverence and care.  We weave everyone’s perspective together, craft tremendously moving rituals, and a write the extraordinary story of your loved one’s life legacy.

During the ceremony, we create an environment of warmth, healing and comfort.  We hope you’ll feel held in a sacred circle of support and love.

Whether your family is spiritual, secular, interfaith or religious—we’ll honor your needs with sensitivity, respect and highest standards of caring for you.

It an honor to offer you support and care during this most painful time. 

What to Expect

• We’ll meet to develop your ceremony vision in a supportive atmosphere—
  at your home, our home, or by phone if you prefer;
• I’ll design a beautiful end-of-life tribute, which may include:
  a memorial at the location of your choice, graveside service, green burial, or
  ash-scattering ceremony;
• You’ll have complete autonomy over the ceremony, including word for word approval before it is facilitated;
• When I lead the service, I hope you’ll feel as if I’m your rock—
  guiding you through the ceremony with strength and compassion.

Leigh Ann is a compassionate, creative and highly engaging ceremony leader. Facilitating exceptionally moving ceremonies that are rich with emotion, appreciation and awe—she brings 15 years of experience and offers her very best to her clients during loss and grief. An inter-denominational minister, she completed her end-of-life training through the Celebrant Foundation & Institute, graduating with honors as Valedictorian of her class.  Leigh Ann is experienced at leading memorials under the most tragic life circumstances, including for adults, infants and children.  Her end-of-life ceremonies are healing journeys which provide extraordinary comfort and meaning to families and communities.

Testimonials

“We were devastated when we lost our first born twin, 10 month old, Micah. Intense heartache overwhelmed our souls. We struggled with how to celebrate our precious son’s life that was cut heartbreakingly short.

Within the first few minutes of speaking with Leigh Ann about our loss and how we wanted to celebrate Micah, I knew she was the perfect person to lead us through this difficult part of our journey. She came to our home and carefully listened for hours as we told our story. I could see the empathy in her eyes and her competence for helping us achieve a beautiful and meaningful celebration for our son was obvious.

Shortly after our initial meeting, Leigh Ann drafted an incredible ceremony founded upon our story, vision, and values.  Every detail was rich with meaning.  Over the next few weeks, we fine-tuned the ceremony together until it was absolutely perfect. Helping to create a beautiful celebration for Micah was a healing process for me. Difficult and heart-rending, but also empowering and therapeutic.

Micah’s Life Celebration was absolutely perfect, in every sense. Leigh Ann led our family and friends gracefully through the difficult process of mourning, celebrating, remembering, and honoring our precious Micah. She provided us with comfort, peace, and memories that we will treasure for the rest of our lives. For that, we are forever grateful.

If you would like to learn more about our precious Micah, please visit Micah Smiles.
—Jennifer and Noah Canvasser, Ann Arbor, MI

“I had the privilege of attending a memorial service, a Celebration of Life, for a young woman who was deeply loved by a diverse community. Leigh Ann’s design and leadership of this ceremony was truly spirit-inspired, meeting the challenge of unifying people from all ages, races, identities and religions with grace and confidence. The ceremony was inclusive, stressed the most universal aspects of the Sacred, and beautifully wove together numerous speakers and presenters into a cohesive ritual flow. Leigh Ann’s expressions where at once poetic, real and engaging, creating a soothing and enlightened experience for all. Despite the despair of such a tragic loss, the community was indeed uplifted by this exceptional ceremony crafted by Leigh Ann, a tremendously gifted community-builder.”
–Laura Sanders, MSW, ACSW, Ann Arbor, MI