How to Conduct an Ordination Service for a New AMM Minister

Use This Simple Ordination Service Outline & Script to Celebrate Your New Role as an Ordained AMM Minister

 

After you get ordained online with American Marriage Ministries, you might want to hold a special event to honor this milestone – this event is sometimes called an ordination service! An ordination service is the opportunity to publicly recognize your call to marriage ministry and to celebrate your new role as an ordained minister of AMM with your community. 

 

Although our church doesn’t host individual ordination services for new ministers, we support and encourage you to honor this important moment with your friends and family if you wish to. Becoming a minister to help others celebrate their marriage is an incredible gift, and a wonderful time to reflect on the love you hope to reflect out into the world.

 

With this in mind, we’ve put together a simple ordination service outline to help you hold an celebration that aligns with personal values and beliefs. Our ministers are a diverse group – from many backgrounds and faiths – so there’s no ‘one size fits all’ service. Instead, use this outline as a starting place to create your own meaningful ceremony.

Become a minister today!

 

 

Welcome to your new role as an ordained minister with American Marriage Ministries! Your ordination service should reflect you, your faith, and your calling. We encourage you to create a ceremony that's as unique as you are, and to celebrate this important milestone however you wish. (Photo: FG Trade / iStock)

 

 

How to Conduct an Ordination Service for a New AMM Minister 

 

The outline below is a community-based ordination service, for celebrating in the company of friends and relatives. You may want to elect a loved one to lead the service, acting as ‘officiant,’ and someone to give a special reading.

 

However, your ordination service can be celebrated alone if you wish – perhaps reflecting on your new role alone in nature, or in quiet meditation at home. There’s no wrong way to acknowledge this milestone.

 

The suggested ordination service below includes an example of what to say during the invocation and special reading. This is just one example, your service will be personalized to your unique values and beliefs.

 

Here is a brief look at the ordination service outline we use below: 

 

• Invocation
• Special Reading
• Response from the Minister
• Celebratory Toast
• Prayer or Meditation
• Ministry of Music

 

 

Invite special loved ones to participate in your ordination service by leading the service, giving a special reading, or by guiding a period of prayer or meditation. (Photo: skynesher / iStock)

 

 

Ordination Ceremony Script & Service Outline

 

• Ordination Service Invocation

 

The service begins, and a loved one gives a short speech.

 

Before the service begins, ask a loved one to prepare a short invocation. An ordination service invocation example is included below.

 

LOVED ONE

 

“Friends, family, community! We’re here today to celebrate the ordination of [Name], and to give [them / him / her] our full support as [they] reach [their] heart and hands out in service to others.  

 

The role of a marriage minister is honorable, humble, and necessary. [Name], you have been called to this ministry for a purpose. It is a great gift to celebrate the love between two people with respect, understanding, open-mindedness, tolerance, and joy. To lift up this love without limits, protecting and nurturing the truth that marriage is a fundamental human right. 

 

As the American Marriage Ministries Philosophy on Marriage states, 

“Marriage is celebrated all around the world in a variety of ways, with each marital ceremony celebrating the values of the couple, their community, and their cultures. The traditions of marriage predate the founding of the United States, the Abrahamic religions, and the emergence of democratic society. We believe that something so ancient and revered, and so ubiquitous throughout the ages, can only be considered sacred.

 

Our faith is one that is universal. Marriage is an institution that crosses cultural boundaries and unites peoples. We believe that marriage is of a higher power.

We believe that every couple united in marriage has the right to choose how they will observe, and who will conduct, their sacred rite.” 

 

Today, we honor [Name’s] new role in celebrating this sacred rite. As a community, we will strive to support and encourage [Name] on their path, reflecting our love and friendship to you at every turn."

 

 

• Special Reading

 

Ask a friend or relative to give a special reading to honor the new minister’s ordination. Consider readings that represent the minister’s values, their calling to the marriage ministry, the importance of community in their lives, or similar themes. One sample reading is included below, an excerpt called ‘On Giving,’ from Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet [Knopf, 1923; this poem is in the public domain].

 

LOVED ONE

 

“I’d like to read something that always makes me think of [Name], [their] generous spirit, [their] desire to help other people, and the way they love and value all kinds of people and all kinds of relationships. It’s from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran: 

 

“Then said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving.
     And he answered:
     You give but little when you give of your possessions.
     It is when you give of yourself that you truly give…

There are those who give little of the much which they have—and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
     And there are those who have little and give it all.
     These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
     There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
     And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
     And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
     They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
     Through the hands of such as these, God speaks, and from behind their eyes, he smiles upon the earth.

     It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
     And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.
     And is there aught you would withhold?
     All you have shall some day be given;
     Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.’’”

 

 

• Response from the Minister

 

To the Minister: Now is your time to say what’s on your mind! Speak from the heart and tell people why you choose to pursue ordination with American Marriage Ministries and what you hope to accomplish in your role as a minister. Consider sharing personal stories and views that give insight into your calling.

 

If you have your Ordination Certificate, Clergy ID, or Minister ID Card with you, show them to your friends and relatives!

Order Your Minister Credentials Now!

 

• Celebratory Toast

 

Now raise a glass to celebrate this big day! You can toast wine, whiskey, cider, coffee… anything you wish! Bring enough for all of your guests and make this a community toast to the future, and to all the couples you will join in marriage!

 

 

• Prayer or Meditation

 

Take a few moments to meditate or pray, or to remember lost loved ones and others who have led you to this day. You can lead this period of prayer or meditation as your first act as a new minister, or ask a loved one to start things off for you. 

 

For a non-spiritual / secular moment of mindfulness, ask guests to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the space around them. Look to your left or right and smile at the people beside you. This is your community! Just enjoy this present moment with each other. 

 

Related: Meditation for Ministers: What is Grounding?

 

 

• Ministry of Music 

 

You know what to do! It’s time to celebrate with some music. Ask friends or relatives to bring instruments to play, create a special playlist, hire a band, or switch on the radio! Dance, drink, laugh, and share in the joy of the day. 

 

 

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What to Wear to an Ordination Service?

 

For Guests: What you wear to attend an ordination service depends on several factors, including the minister's individual faith, the tone of the event, where it's being held, the season and weather, and your personal comfort.

 

In general, wear comfortable clothing that fits well and that will allow easy movement, whether you're sitting and listening, standing and chatting with friends, or dancing in celebration. 

 

Your attire should be respectful and considerate of the new minister's faith, and may be more or less modest depending on this factor. Consider business-casual slacks with a button-up shirt and jacket, a semi-casual dress, a tailored skirt with a blouse, scarf or shawl, or similar options. You may want to bring a coat, umbrella or hat if the weather requires it, and be prepared to remove these once you're inside the venue if appropriate.

 

 

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