Ministers

Spiritualist Ministers provide spiritual support and guidance. They are also registered as marriage celebrants with the Department of Internal Affairs, able to carry out weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies, house blessings and clearings.

Role

In spiritualist churches the role of the minister is to:

provide pastoral care for the congregation
maintain an environment in the church community that supports spiritual advancement
uphold/advance/promote the philosophy and Principles of Spiritualism

Functions

Specific functions of a minister include:

officiating at weddings
conducting ceremonies for naming services, funerals, blessings and renewal of marriage vows
comforting people who are ill, dying or bereaved
holding in confidence all privileged communication
maintaining up to date knowledge about appropriate community support services (eg mental health services) and referring people to specialist services as necessary.

For an insight into being a Spiritualist Minister, read this article by Michael Steffensen, the Minister at Petone Spiritualist Church.