Becoming Pagan Clergy

Once in a while, someone will ask me how I became a member of the Pagan Clergy – what led me to this decision and why? Well,  as a child I was raised into the Lutheran faith. Every Sunday morning I joined my mother and brother in church, reciting the 23^rd Psalm and singing hymns along with the rest of the congregation. I always knew; however, that something didn’t feel right to me. For some reason, I could never really “feel” the Christian teachings in my heart. At the age of 14, I stopped going to church all together. A few years later, I decided to give my Christian roots one more try by attending an Open House held by one of our local Lutheran churches. Alas, when I was asked “what percentage of my pay” I was willing to give to the Church every week when I could barely afford to put food on my own table, I felt so disheartened that I left the Church for good and never looked back.

A couple of years later, I met my husband. He took me to a place called New Hope in Pennsylvania. New Hope is a small little village with all kinds of quaint little shops. Among them was a shop called, “Gypsy Heaven.” I was immediately drawn to this place and totally in awe! There were candles, various gemstones and incense, jewelry and books of every kind. This is when I first heard of the religion of Wicca. I bought a few things including a book called, “To Ride a Silver Broomstick” by Silver Ravenwolf (a good starter book, by the way). Finally I had found a belief system that made sense to me and I remembered feeling as though I was “coming home.”

So, for the next few years I continued to study on my own and, during that time, I was fortunate enough to meet several others who followed the Wiccan path. One of them was a woman named Lady Sabrina Rhiannon who would later not only become the High Priestess who performed my legal handfasting, but she would  also become my Reiki Master and very dear friend.

Becoming a Pagan Clergy member was not a decision in which I took lightly. When I did finally decide that this was something that I definitely in my heart “needed” to do, I approached Lady Sabrina Rhiannon who helped me get started. She told me that she became ordained through the Universal Life Church, a legal interfaith organizational church which believes in, “Do Only That Which is Right.”  I then filled out my application on their website where I was able to pick my official clergy title and soon after I received my Clergy Certificate and credentials. I began ordering my clergy supplies from them as well such as marriage certificates and Wiccaning documents – both of which I have had a need for over the years. I also have had the pleasure of officiating an inter-faith wedding. (please see my post, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”)

I love performing wedding ceremonies and, as a member of the Universal Life Church, I may legally perform them in any state. Of course, each state has its’ own set of laws in which we as clergy must abide by, but I feel that it is important that everyone have the right to get married in the way they so wish. After all, this is a day that you will want to remember for the rest of your life and the memories will always be yours and yours alone.