FELICE RHIANNON
Year of ordination/graduation: 2011 
Tell us a little bit about yourself: Born in the United States, I came to England a few years after hearing about interfaith ministry and OneSpirit. My previous life was filled with the practice of traditional Chinese acupuncture and other forms of complementary healing, decades of yoga and meditation practice, and working as a yoga therapist. I arrived in the UK and ‘retired’, only to find myself busier than ever. I’ve been re-fired, to quote the brilliant Matthew Fox.
What made you decide to study with OneSpirit? OneSpirit offered several things that drew me… a community with like-hearted people; a worldview that encompassed the many, not just the few; dogma-free spiritual exploration; interaction and inner action; deep introspection along with deep sharing and listening; education in new skills and pathways alongside fuller exploration of familiar ones.
What is the best thing about being an ordained interfaith minister? Ordination offers me freedom to practice ministry in the way(s) that speak most deeply to my heartmind. My life is often lived outside the proverbial box and I wanted a practice in the world that would support that life. The connection with other ministers who are actualising their truth inspires me and encourages me to continue to grow, often in unexpected ways.
How do you put your ministry into practice? Seven years after ordination I discovered my ministry. It took a long gestation period and reading a transformative book to catapult me into a ministry of changing the paradigm of ageing and fostering conscious ageing — a new paradigm for growing older.
To those ends, I facilitate workshops, both in person and online, blog regularly, and have written a book of contemplations called “Ageing with Awareness: 52 Weekly Contemplations for a Year of Inspiration”. I also work with the local council in educating Social Workers in this new paradigm. Recently I co-facilitated a retreat for people over 55 at a Buddhist centre in Devon, and will again in the near future.
What inspires you about your work? Simply living as an older person provides bountiful inspiration for mindful awareness, as well as for writing. This phase of life is one of deep personal reflection as well as spiritual growth.
Reading about other peoples’ ageing odyssey always awakens something to consider. Continued cultural ageism, and my commitment to eradicating it, always provides energy to continue. Inspiration for bringing this consciousness to the world is found everywhere and enlivens me each day.
What sets your ministry apart from others? This is a ministry that is personal, cultural and universal. It embraces everyone who has been born because we age from our first breath. While it can include various ceremonies and rituals, it is not focused on them. Rather it shines a light on the last developmental stage of life and the gifts that older people offer to society. This ministry centres on inner awareness, acceptance, forgiveness and self-compassion, and the recognition of the truth of life and death, as well as some practical preparation for dying and death. It is a ministry of celebration and joy in every present moment of growing older.
Felice Rhiannon, Certified Sage-ing Leader,
OneSpirit Interfaith Minister, Spiritual Accompaniment
www.elderspirit.co.uk / www.elderspiritblog.wordpress.com
Felice recently published, “Ageing with Awareness: 52 Contemplations for a Year of Weekly Inspiration.” Read more about the book and Felice here!
“…It all started with a blog. I posted my thoughts, reflections, ideas, and musings about ageing with awareness along with my concerns and confusions. I sent them out into the world, not knowing who, if anyone, would read them. I simply followed the advice of a friend when she told me “It doesn’t matter who reads the posts. Just get them out into the universe. And that was all the encouragement I needed to write and post regularly until the dreaded Covid-19 arrived. While it has not infected me, the disease changed my life drastically, as it did for all of us…”
