Rev. Karma Cloud

We worked with Karma Cloud for our son Larkin’s naming ceremony and we couldn’t be happier with that decision. Audrey comes from a Jewish background and my family is Catholic. Neither one of us considers ourselves to be particularly religious although we are both spiritual people, believing in and connecting to powers greater than ourselves. Neither a baptism nor a bris felt like the right decision and so we were looking for an alternative way of connecting Larkin to a higher power and also to the ancestors for whom he was named. We got Karma’s information from a friend and figured we would touch base to see what options were available to us. From the 1st moment we spoke with Karma on the phone we knew that reaching out to her was the right decision. We discussed potential formats for the ceremony based on her experience, but Karma made it clear that it was our ceremony to create as we saw fit. Anything could be omitted or added to make the experience as personalized as possible. She was warm, calm and inviting and made us feel completely at ease. She made it clear that there was no right or wrong, allowing us to get really imaginative about the altar we would create, the words we would speak and the songs we would sing in addition to the beautiful rituals and prayers in which she would lead us. We worked with Karma in the coming weeks, fine tuning the ceremony and making it truly ours. Larkin’s naming ceremony turned out to be a beautiful and meaningful day for our families. As we shared photos and stories of loved ones passed, raised our voices in song and honored our son’s individuality and spirit, our families were in awe of the attention to detail and the meaning behind every moment of Larkin’s naming ceremony. They still talk about what a special day it was. Karma helped us create that day. We’re eternally grateful and will continue to work with Karma in future ceremonies for future children. — Ruark, Audrey and Larkin Downey , NY