About ministry

Ministry is about helping to bring the sacred into important or special moments in life or if you prefer, about using our God-given gifts to serve others, including all non-human life. I see my role as an interfaith minister as being one of offering ceremony, words, listening, ideas, prayer, stories, guided meditation, counsel, or whatever is right for the people I have the pleasure to work with, and using whatever ways of referring to spirituality (or not) that's most relevant for them.

How I describe my ministry

I’m a traveller by nature and so have an itinerant ministry that doesn't tie me to a particular area. Right now, I have no permanent home, but aim to go where I feel led, currently mainly splitting my time between Brighton and Essex, but not being limited to offering services here, nor just in the UK. In ministry terms, whatever, wherever, and for whoever it seems right for me to do, I aim to do. I also try not to go where it doesn’t feel right for me to venture, even if at times, this might seem like refusing a requested favour.

This is the prayer that I make every day as I end my morning meditation: Lord, what will you have me do today? Where will you have me go? What will you have me say? And to whom? I believe that, if I’m sufficiently open and willing, the Divine can breathe through me.

I like to talk to (my) God as a companion with whom I share my life – to be, as much as I’m able, Her/His eyes, ears, voice, hands and feet in the particular neck of the woods where I’m led. ‘Come on God, let’s enjoy this together!’ is my motto. But of course, I often falter in remembering this, and very easily drop back into my independent silo.

Where creating ceremony is concerned, I will work with whatever my client(s) want – what is personal and right for them. The same is true in spiritual counselling, although this always involves being open to however the conversation feels led, to not following a pre-decided agenda.

Ministry is always changing, just as life is always changing. I’m sure that mine will continue to grow, as I learn and enjoy the privilege of sharing myself with many different people through the important moments in their lives.

In this brief video I talk a little about what I see my ministry is about. Simply click on the play button above to watch.

What is interfaith?

Interfaith recognises that we are all of "one spirit", whether we have a particular faith or not. It's about having an awareness of our sacredness, or being "spiritual" beings, rather than being religious or having any particular belief.

Interfaith means different things to different people. Whilst it's developed its purpose well beyond this now, the seminary that offered my ministry training, the One Spirit Interfaith Foundation, began as a group of leaders from different faith traditions (Judaism, Christian, Hindu and others), who wanted to start exploring the boundaries of their own faiths by learning about the beliefs of others. The common purpose of each faith, as well as the typically shared principal teachings quickly became apparent to them (even if expressed in different ways and using different stories and metaphors). Hence, rabbis, ministers, imams and others were soon working together in the interests of bringing compassion, healing and spiritual meaning into the world, rather than acting in some sort of competition.

What is my "interfaith"? In this brief video I attempt to answer this common question. Simply click on the play button above to watch.

Clive Johnson
Email:   clive@clivejohnsonministry.com
Phone:  +44 (0)7956 942980
Skype:  cliverj2
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