At ChI, we believe that the world is in need of the gifts and talents of every individual called to service. The Interfaith Congregation For Creative & Healing Ministries is dedicated to supporting the unique call to ministry expressed by our Interfaith Studies alumni by ordaining them as Interfaith ministers to serve the spiritual needs of our religiously and culturally diverse world.
An ordained Interfaith Minister honors and respects the religions of the world and the chosen spiritual paths of individuals. Interfaith Ministers have an underlying belief and knowledge in the connection between all religions and all peoples of the earth. It is with this belief and knowledge that Interfaith Ministers seek to promote inner healing and harmony within diverse communities. Individuals choose to ordain with our community because we honor, nurture, and celebrate their multi-religious identity and/or inter-spiritual worldview.
Ordination is conferred upon individuals who have completed all Interfaith Studies coursework and requirements, are committed both to the vocational calling of service and to personal spiritual development, and who have demonstrated readiness for ministry, including achievement of core competencies. Individuals who are ordained are also engaged with one or more recognized religions and/or spiritual paths.
The Interfaith Congregation calls and ordains clergy via:
- Ecclesiastical Endorsement: An Interfaith minister ordained by The Interfaith Congregation receives ecclesiastical endorsement to Interfaith ministry.
- 'Member in Good Standing' Endorsement: An ordained Interfaith minister commissioned to chaplaincy receives ‘member in good standing’ endorsement as for professional functioning as a celebrant and chaplaincy certification.
For Interfaith ministers working as professional chaplains, Ecclesiastical Endorsement and Member in Good Standing Endorsement by The Interfaith Congregation are recognized by The Association of Professional Chaplains, and The Council of Interfaith Congregations of the United States of America.
In addition, ordained clergy of The Interfaith Congregation are recognized by the US Government and may claim clergy tax status for Income Tax reporting.
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Our Interfaith Ministers: - Support people in finding meaning within life, crisis, suffering, and loss, as well as sorting out their relationship to the Divine - Provide compassionate, respectful spiritual care to people of all faiths, as well as people of no faith. - Assist people in celebrating and ritualizing the cycles of life, including weddings and memorials - Are active participants in the world community of clergy from all faith traditions who hold the model of Interfaith spiritual life as appropriate for our world today. - Receive endorsement to chaplaincy recognized by the Association of Professional Chaplains |
A composite definition of ‘Interfaith Minister’
as developed by the students and faculty of ChI:
The committed life of an ordained Interfaith minister is one of constant study of religions and cultures, ceremonies, rituals, liturgies and spiritual paths. The ordained Interfaith minister strives to live a life of compassion, not condemnation. It means we look to our diversity as the composite, and yet never full revealed, image of the sacred and divine. It means we are open to receive the many gifts and blessings, of the wisdom teachings and truths of other faith traditions, while also fully embracing our own traditions. It means we maintain a sense of wonder and curiosity about it All. Faith represents: Fully Active In The Healing (FAITH)
The Interfaith minister serves the unnamed and named God, and is open to engaging new faith traditions that are not familiar. The Interfaith minister recognizes that the Holy is everywhere: jail, hospital, nature and the streets. Our mission is to empower all and overpower none; to do this we must be vigilant observers of human nature, starting with ourselves. As ordained interfaith clergy, we strive to preserve integrity and dissolve prejudice and injustice.
As ordained Interfaith ministers, we hold that Spirit is fully present as an inspired energy in all beings and all things. We see beauty, and we respect and are connected to the Divine nature expressed in both male and female, in the body, and in creation itself. We seek and work with the loving thread that flows through all faiths, that connects all faiths and has always connected faith traditions. We believe that forgiveness and gratitude are two of the most powerful tools of our calling, and that dedicated spiritual practice and prayer can bring about transformation and healing.
We pray that those who wage war in the name of God will someday embrace this perspective so that our world will know peace and harmony.
Discerning One’s Call
The journey towards ordination as an Interfaith Minister begins with you, with a sense of calling. Perhaps you have heard a voice since childhood that has spoken to your heart, and mind, your whole being. Some may call this voice God, and hear the voice in a church, or temple. Or perhaps you hear the voice in the silence as you sit on your meditation cushion, a voice that says “serve with compassion.” Your moment of calling may have been experienced hiking up a mountain and feeling the wind tugging at your soul. The “Call” may have come to you giving comfort to a stranger injured in a car accident. Your life may have been touched in some way by a clergy person of your own faith or of a faith totally different from your own. You may have had a moment in the hospital when you witnessed a chaplain and had a sense of recognition that said, “This is what I was born to do.”
No doubt there may have been many steps along the way that have brought you to our doors. We congratulate you for your courage, and for all the spiritual discernment and growth that have shaped you into becoming who you are today. We bless all that has brought you to this present moment. This is really the beginning of your Interfaith Journey.
Our seminary and congregation are for you if you are looking for a way to develop a personal ministry which is creative and celebrates diversity. ChI will help you to focus upon your path as an interfaith minister and discover how you uniquely express yourself in this work. As a student on the path to ordination as an Interfaith Minister, you will be asked to bring your own whole self creativity into your ministry. You will be encouraged to use your talents as an expression of your spirit in working with people. You will develop your own personal ministerial style and be able to do pastoral counseling and perform ceremonies and rituals such as marriages, baptisms and funerals. As an ordained Interfaith Minister you can officiate at weddings (requirements for clergy may vary from state-to-state or country-to-country), blessings and memorials. Our ordained clergy also serve in a variety of institutional settings, including health care and hospice chaplaincy, where they bring an informed Interfaith perspective to people of many faiths as well as people of no faith.
