I'm Not Kidding

I'm sure there are folks out there who go online and get ordained as a big joke.  You know, ha ha, call me Monsignor Bucky.  That kind of thing.

Well, for a number of years I had been curious about becoming a non-denominational officiant, and I was as serious as could be.   I loved the idea of working with families and couples to create meaningful ceremonies and rituals to mark passages in their lives.  I am Christian, but I am very appreciative of diversity in all ways, and liked the idea of honoring that by serving people in this way.

Our good friend Ron's wedding this week sealed it for me.  They brought in an officiant to marry them in a very simple ceremony at their home, and it was lovely in how it was personalized to them and their family they were blending.  The minister was very nice, but honestly, I thought I could have done it better.

So.

I did it.  I took the plunge.  And I truly felt called to do it.

I have very strong ideas of how I want to go about this.   I do NOT want to be called at the last minute to marry someone I've never met.  I want to have time to know the couple, to talk about what has led them to choose to marry each other or baptize their child or ask me to lead a funeral for their loved one.  I want to work with them to create a ceremony that will make a memory for a lifetime.   I'm also a licensed marital and family therapist, and have considered offering some premarital counseling sessions prior to marriages.  When I was a grad student, I interned at a Catholic church, offering premarital counseling, and really enjoyed it. 

I'm not jumping headfirst into this.  It took years of thought and prayer to make the decision to go forward.  It follows that I will think how I go forward from here just as carefully, insofar as how to make my services known, etc. 

So...what do you think?