| The Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI) |
| Ordination and Awards |
To be fully recognized as clergy or Wisdom-Keeper, the pledger must go through a public ordination / CO-ordination* ceremony. The first public co-ordination ceremony took place in Washington, DC, USA on January 9, 2010. During that time 25 clergy were ordained/co-ordained to the stature of "Interfaith-Interspiritual Cleric and Minister." Two Wisdom Keepers were co-ordained. Three Aspirants from two seminaries and one Wayfarer were welcomed into The Order. These thirty individuals all became the first pledgers to OUnI that would come together to consecrate the creation of the Universal Order of Sannyasa (now called the Community of the Mystic Heart) community along with 45 others located around the world. During this first ceremony, the first class of recipients (5 total) of the "Interfaith Interspiritual Sage" Award was named: Father Bede Griffith Posthumous Award. Brother Dr. Wayne Teasdale Author of the book (1999), "The Mystic Heart," which defined the term "interspiritual" and called for the creation of the Universal Order of Sannyasa. Posthumous Award. Father Thomas Keating Founder and leader of the Snowmass, Colorado organization: Contemplative Outreach, LTD. A writer and teacher of mystic Christian contemplative tradition. Rev. Dr. Huston Smith Author of numerous books on the world's religions including the seminal textbook for all students, "The World's Religions." He also wrote the 1976 book, "Forgotten Truth: The Common Vision of the World's Religions." Award presented in his home in California in February 2010. Alison Davis Creator and first leader of "The Universal Third Order" in 1986. On April 23, 2010, a sixth and final member of the first class of sages was named. The award was presented in New York City on the occasion of his 98th birthday. Rabbi Joseph H. Gelberman, Ph.D. Founder of the first Interfaith Seminary in the world. * Why does OUnI do a co-ordination ceremony for graduates of the seminary programs? OUnI respectfully acknowledges the ordination given by individual interfaith seminaries to serve the divine as they see it but believes that there must be a public declaration of intent to serve a particular ministry. To those who pledge to OUnI, its CO-ordination expands the scope of an interfaith minister's ministry to include the whole "interfaith-multifaith-interspiritual" movement. OUnI's co-ordination is an acknowledgment to the world and to the Interfaith-Interspiritual Cleric and Minister that their canonical stature as clergy is recognized by not only their own school, but by other peers from all the participating schools and those deemed worthy of "equivalency education" for ordination. It represents a "universal ordination" from the whole movement, something no individual school can provide. |
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