Tag Archives: ordained minister

Become Clergy, Connect Humans to the Force, the Source!

Become an ordained minister, Rabbi, or clergy title of your choice. There is a great need currently for faith leaders and spiritual teachers (like Yoda!, like Eckhart Tolle).

The Force exists! As ordained clergy you experience The Force in your life, where it has always been, and you guide others to experience it. Mankind has known of The Force, the Source, the Logos, for literally thousands of years. Even the Bible teaches the Force, calling it the Logos, which in Greek means “unifying creative Force of reason / consciousness”. Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived right before the time of Christ, taught the Logos, too. Philo was a hero because he went to Rome and talked Caligula out of placing a statue of himself inside the Temple.

Eckhart Tolle is one of our favorite spiritual teachers. He combines esoteric Christianity with Buddhism and all the world’s ancient wisdom teachings. He is truly interfaith and eclectic. Are you? Do others turn to you asking for spiritual guidance, advice? Eckhart Tolle is one of a long line of wisdom teachers going back to the ancient past but also into the future — becaues his teachings are like Yoda’s (!)

Here at the Esoteric Interfaith Church, Inc. we have been ordaining ministers, Rabbis, Chaplains, Priests, etc. for over two decades. You are legal in all 50 states to officiate weddings, can file your taxes as a member of the clergy, and are afforded the clergy – parishioner privilege the same as attorney-client privilege.

Suicide rates are up, especially among teens. The rising generation, Generation Z, is confused and unable to imagine a successful future for themselves. They are told religion is bad, but feel the void of no spirituality in their lives. Older generations are feeling this void, this yearning for existential meaning, also. This desire for spiritual meaning is why Star Wars and other archetypal living myth type movies are so popular.

Our goal has been to place alternative non-denominational clergy into every town in the USA. We have ordained thousands over the years from all walks of life. Once ordained by us, you are instantly eligible to join our free alumni network.

If you have ever felt “the CALL”, called to serve the people around you, now is the time to answer! Read here how to become ordained in three quick steps.

The Ordained Minister, Rabbi or Priest Serves Like Angels at Heaven’s Altar and Connect Couple to Heaven when Officiate a Wedding

officiate marriage same-sex weddingThe Ordained Minister, Rabbi or Priest serve at the “altar” before the Divine, just like Angels do at heaven’s altar. Such clergy also help a couple getting married to connect, to uplink, with the Divine when they properly officiate their marriage / perform a wedding.

Judaism and Christianity both teach that altar servers, be they ordained as a minister or rabbi here on earth are counterparts to “the host of angels that attend to the Heavenly banquet.”

The Greek Bible (New Testament) shows us scenes of angels standing before the altar in heaven, holding a golden incense burner, officiating as a priest or minister. I wonder if angels ever officiate a wedding, perhaps a sacred marriage at the heavenly altar?

Clergy Can Perform a Wedding in a Special Way

An esoteric teaching regarding weddings is if the minister or Rabbi will perform the wedding just right, in accordance with their faith tradition’s mysteries both inner and outer, then the couple standing under the huppah (Judaism) or at the altar or before the clergy-person, are transported to the heavenly altar and the Divine enters into the marriage with them.

Couples want an Ordained Minister or Rabbi, not a secular officiant

This is of course the whole reason people want an ordained minister or Rabbi to perform their wedding in the first place and not just a civic authority, justice of the peace, or someone with no spiritual inclincation.  There is a spiritual element to a marriage, and the vast majority of couples worldwide know this instinctively and seek out clergy to help them connect with the Divine on their special day.

Become Ordained and Officiate Weddings in all 50 States

We have been ordaining ministers, Rabbis, priests and multi-faith interfaith clergy of all kinds for over 25 years. Our ordained clergy perform weddings nearly every day — at least somewhere in the USA.

Free Online Minister Manual

Bishop James, our Dean of Students at the Seminary, found this link to the New Minister’s Manual.  He writes: It is an excellent resource. As with many internet resources, shelf life is unpredictable, and you should save it if you are interested. +James   http://www.vfwofwa.org/Announcements/state_chaplain/ministers_manual.pdf

He means the manual above is currently a free PDF, but we don’t know how long the authors will continue to so generously make it available.

Several of the ministers and clergy in our network of graduates, including me, immediately downloaded and started to use this new manual. One ordained minister pointed out the manual is not as inclusive as it could be, is Christian-only, not Interfaith.  She made a good point.

minmanualFor the past twenty plus years as we ordain ministers, rabbis and other clergy of all callings and faiths, we offer them the Interfaith Minister Manual pictured right.  I think both these minister manuals are a good addition to one’s library. Now that I think about it, I should photograph my shelf of clergy manuals here at the Seminary. This “collection” compiled over the past quarter century now takes up two shelves on their own, and that does not include all the other liturgy and ceremony / ritual books. Does anyone else “collect” minister manuals? We have long considered putting a minister manual online somehow, or at least a compilation of religious ceremonies, rites of passage, etc.  We used to have some nice funeral ceremony “templates” and of course a bunch of wedding ceremonies online back in 1999 and 2000 when the Seminary first went online. Wonder what happened to those.

So many of our clergy create their own ceremonies these days that not too many want to follow along a set “script”.  However, doing so is much easier when you can cut and paste, pick and choose elements from a  minister manual or wedding ceremonies you find online.  With the help of the bride and groom, a wedding officiant usually customizes the ceremony by using all these minister tools.  That reminds me of one of the little known ancient meanings of the word ordination.  It means “to have the tools placed in hand” by the Divine.  In the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) we find the first use of the word ordination. God would ordain priests, clergy, etc. by placing “tools” of the ministry in their hands.   They were empowered, ordained, set to work.  Our formal Certificate of Ordination uses an old turn of phrase, “Ordained to the work of ______________ Minister”. The minister or clergy title such as Interfaith Minister, Chaplain, Spiritual Minister, Rabbi, Priest goes in there.

Being clergy is a special kind of work (with tools handed down from on High!). Some would say it is the Great Work.

+Katia

PhD in Metaphysics vs Doctor of Divinity Religious degrees

The Esoteric Interfaith Church, Inc. and its earlier branch the unincorporated Metaphysical Interfaith Church have been ordaining ministers since 1987. But two years later the church also established a seminary to further train our ministers and alternative clergy and has been granting religious degrees ever since.

Today one of our degree candidates — who will also become an ordained minister at no extra cost — asked about the Ph.D. versus the Doctor of Divinity degree. She has studied the Barbara Brennan  healing system and is already working in the field as a spiritual healer. Of course she wants ordination as a minister in order to protect herself legally and be able to set and accept suggested donations for PhD in Metaphysics Doctor of Divinity for spiritual healers ordained ministers reiki practitionersher pastoral counseling and spiritual healing practice. But she also wants a religious doctorate degree to reassure those in her circle and give her parishioners / members added peace of mind. The word “Doctor” in front of a spiritual healing minister’s name isn’t about prestige but about reassurance and confidence in the one who is serving humanity. She asked:

QUESTION: My intention is to teach workshops at bookstores, healing centers and workshop centers as well as  having my own “clients” in my spiritual ministry.  I also wish to reach Hospice Centers and Rehab Centers that are connected to the Hospitals.  Do you still think the Ph.D. in Metaphysics is more beneficial than the Doctor of Divinity degree?  Which religious degree is more ‘beneficial, accepted and known’ in mainstream hospitals and healing centers?

ANSWER:  Both degrees allow you to attach Dr. to the front of your name, but the PhD in Metaphysics also allows you to attach PhD to the end of your name. The PhD is known all over the world and is the most widely recognized and highest ranking doctorate degree compared to the Doctor of Divinity.  Some mainstream hospitals and healing centers might not understand what “Metaphysics” is, but they also won’t necessarily know what a doctorate in “Divinity” is.  If you were in the U.K., I’d tell you to go with the Doctor of Divinity because that degree is the highest pinnacle of education for the U.K. and Europe. But the Doctor of Divinity doesn’t mean healing to them, rather academic achievement. In your case, I keep leaning toward the PhD in Metaphysics for you because it is for religious philosophers, but also has to do with spiritual healing. The PhD in Metaphysics is the most common degree of choice for spiritual healers and actually allows the holder to call themselves a “metaphysician” and a “doctor”. Many like the term meta-physician meaning “beyond a physician”, or a different kind of healing, not “mere” physical healing. Some do hypnotherapy, Reiki, EFT and even NLP.

Of course our metaphysicians do not practice medicine without a license, we are only talking about spiritual healing here.   Even so, the words have power and are applied to all healers, all practitioners of body, mind and spirit healing modalities. We have conferred the PhD in Metaphysics on dozens of graduates over the years.

Get Ordained to Perform a Marriage

Perform a wedding, Become an ordained minister, rabbiPerhaps the most common reason people come to us online for ordination is because they have been asked to perform a marriage.  A relative or close friend, even co-workers nowadays ask someone special in their lives to officiate their wedding. Now with the June wedding season approaching we are ordaining more ministers than usual. Some want to start their own pastoral counseling practice, others want to set up a wedding chapel, but most have been asked to perform a marriage. It used to be the bride and groom couldn’t pick a family member or best friend to officiate their big day. Couples had to find a member of the institutionalized clergy who was willing to marry them. Those were frustrating times, but they are over. Now in all 50 states any person asked to officiate a wedding can become an ordained minister or rabbi. Our non-denominational interfaith seminary ordains people for this reason all the time, about two per week. And ordination is quick and easy — only 3 steps. 1.  Fill out the online application here. 2.  Write a one or two page spiritual history (email format is fine) telling the story of religion and spirituality (they are different) in  your life from childhood to present. 3.  Pay the one-time tuition of $150. There are no annual renewal fees of any kind, ordination is good for your lifetime. (Once you submit the application you will be directed to a PayPal tuition page). All the requirements and minister / rabbi title choices on our Ordination Requirements Page. For legal FAQ’s see here. Some counties and cities require extra paperwork before you can officiate a marriage in their jurisdiction but we help you will all of that.  Our ministers and clergy are officiating weddings all the time in all 50 states. We help ministers with the paperwork so they can perform marriages even inside picky New York City and the very jump-thru-hoops state of Virginia. Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada and Hawaii just to name a few require extra paperwork and it’s no problem. We have even done it on the fly for someone about to officiate a wedding the very next day.  One time we even had to scan and email the Certificate of Ordination to the new minister in California because the wedding was the next morning and FedEx wouldn’t make it! After the ordination we will even help you fill out the marriage license.  The bride and groom will get the license and bring it to you on the wedding day. You simply fill out the minister portion on the license where it asks who you are ordained by, your minister title, etc.  We help you with all that. Recently we helped a minister fill out the marriage license by using cellphone pictures and text messages! Used to be “in the old days” the minister would call us, then it went to faxing questions, followed by emails and now we can even help you out by texting! If you have any questions feel free to ask below or send us an email at seminary at northernway.org

How to Become an Ordained Minister just in time for wedding season!

We were just discussing ordination online at the Seminary’s Facebook page this week.  Many of our ordained ministers, pastors, rabbis and priests are gearing up for the busy spring wedding season. Yes, June is still the busiest wedding month but March is hopping this year, also. We have ministers officiating weddings in California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida and Michigan this month. Another minister ordained by the church / seminary performed a wedding in North Carolina and has several more schedule. That was his 16th wedding so far since ordination with us.

If you have been asked by relatives or friends to perform their wedding, we can ordain you within 24 hours if you complete these three easy steps.