Since 1997 a ground-breaking UK Seminary has trained and ordained more than 600 ministers — among them, high numbers of LGBT people — who are not aligned to any specific religion, and are determined not to start another one.
They are part of the OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation, which, according to its website, is part of “the awakening of an inclusive global spirituality, in ourselves and in the world, through training and enabling open-hearted men and women to serve people of all faiths and none in our diverse communities”.
OneSpirit interfaith ministers are independent ‘freelance’ ministers, without churches or temples or mosques. Many work leading ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, others take their work to volunteering in police services, prisons, or hospitals.
The Foundation particularly appeals to many LGBT people, who have felt disillusioned with their own religion, whatever that may be.
Ian Bonner-Evans said he understands why many LGBT people find a home in OneSpirit. Bonner-Evans was a Christian minister in the early 2000s when he did a lot of LGBT campaigning, but resigned when he became “tired and disillusioned with what I then understood the religious or spiritual life to be.”
Ordained as an interfaith minister over a decade later, in 2016, Bonner-Evans says he has been able to grow emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.
“I was touched in the very core of my being and energized in a mysterious way for the life of service ahead.” Read more via Pink News