However, in England and Wales the law does not recognise interfaith ministers, although OneSpirit is hopeful this may change soon – as are humanists, who have recently launched a legal challenge to try to force the government to allow humanist weddings to be recognised in law.īut as each minster has a unique spirituality, so each minster’s work is different. In Scotland and Ireland interfaith ministers are able to register to legally solemnise marriages, so they could take over the whole role of a traditional priest or rabbi. OneSpirit ministers try to create bespoke ceremonies which respectfully incorporate elements of each family’s religion, she explained. However, she and her family found the lack of a ceremony after his death “unfulfilling” which led to explore how a funeral could have been arranged which respected his antipathy towards institutional faith but still recognised the spiritual significance of his passing.Ī common part of an interfaith minister’s work would be organising weddings where the couple come from different faith backgrounds. Susan Mashke said she had first been drawn towards ordination when her father had died and requested no funeral because of his antagonism towards organised Jewish religion. All are given a stole – the typical long liturgical scarf traditionally worn by Christian priests during services – at their ordination ceremony. Many of the ministers use the title Reverend, which is not a protected term in English law, and some also wear clerical collars. But once ordained and added to the register maintained by OneSpirit, they are able to conduct ceremonies and provide religious services to almost anyone, of any religious background or none at all. “They are all heading in more or less the same direction and this is appreciating each one of them for their unique way in which they understand spiritual growth and devotion.”Įach interfaith minister, therefore, has their own individual spirituality, drawing on many different religious traditions and practices. “The idea is that there is a commonality of love and compassion that pretty much all the different religious faiths share,” explained Susan Mashke, an ordained interfaith minister herself and one of the trustees of the Foundation. The foundational idea behind the OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation, which has been training the 65 ordinands for the past two years, is that all the world’s faiths are different perspectives and approaches to the same core spiritual values. Instead, they are being ordained as OneSpirit Interfaith Ministers. The candidates, who are currently taking part in a pre-ordination retreat (also online), will make vows of service and be anointed with oil as they take on their new roles.īut these minsters are not being inducted into Christianity, Judaism, Islam or in fact any recognisable faith tradition. On Saturday, a group of 65 men and women will gather via the internet from their separate homes to be ordained as ministers.
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