frequently asked questions

Embarking on a spiritual journey through training with OneSpirit is not simply about absorbing a fixed set of teachings; it’s about engaging with a living and evolving curriculum that honours the unique contributions of each participant. At OneSpirit, we deeply recognise that learning is not a one-way street but a dynamic exchange — a dance between the material, the tutors, and, most importantly, the students themselves.

How OneSpirit’s Unique Approach Benefits You:

Adaptive Learning Environment

• Dynamic Curriculum: Our content is responsive, evolving with each group’s unique energy and insights.
• Personal Influence: Your journey becomes a key part of the learning experience, influencing the direction and depth of the entire class’s insights.
• Collaborative Wisdom: Students don’t just learn from tutors; they learn from one another, creating a rich tapestry of shared knowledge.

The Privilege of Impact

• Direct Contribution: You have the privilege to shape the learning process, making your mark on the curriculum as your wisdom and experiences become part of the collective wisdom.
• Interactive Education: Your actively shared perspectives are not only welcomed but are considered critical to the learning process, making for a highly participatory experience.

A Living Education

• Evolving with You: As you grow and change, so does the educational experience. OneSpirit’s curriculum honours where you are in your journey, always relevant to your current state of being.
• Emergent Learning: Each class’s unique composition ensures that no two learning journeys are the same, making your experience at OneSpirit deeply personal and unique.

Safe and Sacred Space

• Confidentiality and Trust: In a space where your personal journey is honoured, confidentiality is paramount. You can explore your spirituality with the assurance of trust and safety.
• Unhindered Expression: With the absence of recordings and rigid structure, you are free to express your deepest truths and learnings, fostering an environment of authenticity and connection.

So… Why Choose OneSpirit?

Choosing OneSpirit’s training is a commitment to a participative educational process where the conventional student-tutor dynamic is transcended. The collective learning experience is enriched not just by the curriculum provided but by the active contributions and personal evolution of each participant. If you are seeking a spiritual education that is as flexible and vibrant as life itself — continually adapting, growing, and emerging with each collective moment — then OneSpirit is the organically unfolding path you’ve been seeking.

Before starting on the application form, you will need to seek permission to share contact details of 2 x character referees (not a partner or relative). We will contact them for a reference after you have submitted your application form.

You can find the online application form here once enrolment opens.

Please take your time completing the form – it asks some straightforward questions as well as some deeper, more reflective questions about your life and spiritual path. If you accidentally close the window whilst still completing the form, don’t worry, your information should be saved within the form, provided you open the link in the same browser on the same device. If you need any help or have any questions about your enrolment form, please contact us.

No. While we strongly encourage applicants to join us at one of our free Intro Day events as a way of getting to know more about us and the training we offer, this is optional.

Once your form has been submitted, we will contact your referees. When references have been received and provided these are satisfactory, your application will be reviewed by faculty. If your application is approved, you will receive confirmation from OneSpirit, with a link to complete your Training Agreement and set up your payment plan.

Once we receive your completed Training Agreement and your first payment, we will issue confirmation & letter of invitation to join the training. Before the start of the course, you will receive details of how to log-in to the resources provided for you as a student, and support will be available to you then to make sure everything is ready for you to get off to the best possible start.

The nature of the course, and the way the group forms a learning circle means that it is particularly important to be present at the very start of each of the two years. It is unlikely that we would support absence from these sessions.

Out of respect to the learning of the group, we ask that you are present ready to start on time, and if you think you may be delayed, inform your group tutor as soon as possible. If an absence is unavoidable, please discuss this with your tutors in advance, or at the earliest opportunity.

If you miss a session, you should arrange to have a member of your study group take notes for you. However, please note that our training is highly experiential, and learning is dynamic, resulting from our time together as a group, and therefore notes cannot be regarded as a substitute for attendance. In the case of repeated absences, should your tutors feel that your progress on the course has been significantly affected, you may be asked to repeat that year again at your own expense. 

Webinars are recorded at tutor discretion, and will typically only be recorded when a webinar contains mainly teaching content, such as when a guest speaker comes to visit. Live webinars are experiential in nature and we understand that our training often involves profound and personal sharing, which forms an integral part of one’s learning journey. This delicate context makes recording these sessions challenging due to the sensitivities involved. We aim to foster a safe learning environment where students can freely express their thoughts and emotions and we want to encourage uninhibited participation in webinars, and therefore webinars that do not contain specific teaching content tend not to be recorded. 

Engagement and commitment are indispensable elements of OneSpirit’s Ministry Training, which is designed to be a transformative and profound personal journey. As a student, you’ll be expected to actively participate not only in the coursework but also in interactions with your fellow students, and tutors, and during class sessions.

Through consistent engagement in homework assignments, thought-provoking discussions with peers, and introspective exploration during lessons, your experience in the programme becomes deeply enriched. The cultivation of essential skills required to become an ordained minister or graduate depends on the dedication and devotion you bring to the course.

Your unwavering involvement is pivotal in nurturing the personal and spiritual growth that will ultimately make you a well-rounded spiritual guide and leader. Remember, your OneSpirit journey is not superficial—it’s a transformative path that demands your full focus and genuine engagement.

To fully participate in the training, all students will require a computer that is connected to the internet, access to Zoom, and a basic level of proficiency in routine tasks like accessing the web, use of email and word processing for the purposes of writing assignments. We provide students in all our classes with learning materials and resources via our bespoke online learning platform.

We also provide a dedicated messaging platform that allows students to communicate with each other, as well as our tutors. This messaging platform is our main vehicle for communicating with students, so it is essential you can access this from the beginning of the training. There is no technical expertise required, it is a relatively simple matter of downloading and installing the app – full instructions will be given at the start of the course, and again, there is always help on hand from our team if you need assistance.

In order to participate in our online webinars, you will need access to a stable internet connection, a fully working computer with a web camera, and be comfortable using technology to join video calls. For most of our online sessions we will be using Zoom. You should make provision for these requirements prior to starting the course. If you are in any doubt about any of these requirements, please contact a member of the team and we will be glad to give you guidance.

We strive to deliver the training between the dates and at the locations publicised in our information pack, on our website and elsewhere. In exceptional circumstances, we may have to change the venue in order to ensure the quality of your experience is everything we hope it to be. Sometimes this may also impact on dates although we recognise the importance of being able to plan ahead, so dates will only be changed if there is no alternative. In the event of this, we will make every effort to communicate these changes with you at the earliest convenience.

Ordination is not a given. If you complete the course and graduate and have demonstrated the necessary skills and competencies for ministry there is an opportunity for you to be ordained. Those ordained can choose to use the title of Reverend, not as a mark of status but as a reminder of their reverence for all life, signifying a quiet acceptance of an inner spiritual authority that is both radical and profound.

Many go on to choose to offer service as celebrants, or spiritual counsellors, or to be of service in a myriad of other ways. For those who choose to join OneSpirit’s register of ministers (ROSIM), it means they can identify themselves as a OneSpirit Interfaith Minister, use our logo and hold themselves accountable to the standards we recommend for public ministry.

After successfully completing the training, two ceremonies mark the passage of ordination:

• first, a vow-taking ceremony in which all ordinands say their own personal vow, witnessed and affirmed by their class, tutors and other ordained ministers;
• later, at a more public facing ceremony witnessed by family and friends, ordinands step forward in silence and stand alone to receive their ordination from the natural, pre-ordained, ordinary, sacred, original, essential authority of who we truly are. On the self-affirmed authority of the Divine Self, the God Within, the Great Silence, the Source, the Call It What You Will – it is within, as it is above, below and between too. They then step back into the circle to have this experience blessed and affirmed by tutors and those present.

This is a radical and profound shift away from an outer authority, being the conductor for the energy of ordination. And it reflects the shift towards the awakening of inner authority, with ordination having forged its meaning in one’s own inner language, 100 percent in choice, and in communion with one’s own alignment within Grace. Ordination requires a deep, ongoing commitment to OneSpirit’s Code of Ethics – your status as an interfaith minister may be revoked if you are found to be in breach of this code.

If you choose to enter public ministry at some point following ordination, you will be expected to join the Register of OneSpirit Interfaith Ministers (ROSIM), which will allow you to use the title of OneSpirit Interfaith Minister, subject to the conditions of membership and your commitment to remain accountable to the standards we require for public ministry. If you do not join the professional register, you can, of course, still identify yourself as an independent interfaith minister trained by OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation, but your ministry will not be recognised or endorsed by OneSpirit.

The timing of ordination can extend beyond the two years and may be re-considered and chosen in years after the successful completion of the two-year training.

OneSpirit reserves the right to delay graduation and/or ordination and may request that a student undergo additional training or growth before being ordained. This may involve additional expense. It is essential that each student preparing for Ordination is seen by their tutors as being deeply aligned in their whole being with OneSpirit’s Code of Ethics.

No, you can graduate without going on to ordination. Ordination is a choice at the end of the two year training, ‘in addition to’ rather than as an assumption upon completion of the course requirements.  Ordination is an indication that each candidate has their own and the faculty’s agreement that they are ready, in essence, to serve authentically.

Please note that to be eligible for ordination you will need to:

• be up to date with all your course work and assignments.
• have your tutors’ confirmation that you have the skills and competencies required for ministry.
• be up to date with your fee payments.

OneSpirit does not run a celebrant training programme, there is much more to training as a minister than developing the skill to hold a ceremony. Indeed, even experienced celebrants can be drawn to undertake our training to add a deeper spiritual dimension to their practice and their ceremonies. However the training does prepare our students to conduct ceremonies as interfaith ministers, such as wedding blessing ceremonies (with no legal aspect), funerals, baby namings and other rites of passage.

Ministers can be authorised to hold the legal aspect of a wedding ceremony, depending on regulatory frameworks that can differ according to location. Ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland can apply to be nominated by OneSpirit to join the legal Solemniser registers. For ministers in Ireland, nominations to the legal Solemniser register held by the GRO are made by the Association of One Spirit Interfaith Ministers of Ireland. In all cases, membership of the Register of OneSpirit Interfaith Ministers is a requirement. Please note, nomination requires additional training, and it could be up to 12 months after ordination before you meet the necessary requirements as a new minister. We will not support ministers seeking to transfer from being nominated by OneSpirit to another nominating body.

Interfaith ministers do not adhere to any particular religion or creed, unless it is the path of the individual minister; we all come to serve others on whatever pathway they are on, from our own pathway, whatever that is.

If you choose to take advantage of one of our extended payment plans, you will be required to set up a direct debit or authorise a credit or debit card for us to take regular payments in line with your agreed plan. You will have the option to sign up using either card details or by creating a direct debit mandate, and we will collect the payments on the agreed schedule for the plan you have chosen. Your payment plan will commence from the month you complete your Training Agreement.

You must remain fully up to date with fee payments in line with your agreed payment plan at all times. It is your responsibility to ensure there are sufficient funds available on your chosen payment method to meet your agreed monthly payments. Missed payments may incur an admin fee of £25 for each missed payment after the first occurrence. Failure to adhere to the terms of the payment plan may result in the full amount of fees becoming due immediately.

Our extended payment plans are offered in good faith and failure to maintain payments in accordance with your training agreement may be regarded as a breach of OneSpirit’s Code of Ethics. Your status as a graduate of OneSpirit and (if ordained) as an interfaith minister are dependent on your fulfilment of the terms of your training agreement and may be revoked if you do not honour this contract.

We recognise that undertaking our training is a significant financial commitment. As an educational charity, we do all we can to keep our fees as low as possible whilst offering an exceptional training curriculum held by an experienced and highly skilled Faculty. Our Finance Officer can talk you through the support and guidance available for funding your training. We offer a number of flexible payment plans, including the option to spread payments over 60 months.

Yes, you can, but please note we do not accept ad-hoc or ‘as & when’ payments.  We cannot accept a promise of payments when my house sells or when I get my inheritance or any variation of the same.

When you enrol, you must choose a payment option & make the 1st payment via this plan. If subsequently, at any point you decide you have a lump sum you wish to apply to your fees, please email the Finance Officer who will arrange this.

Yes, you can. For instance, if you signed up to a 20 month payment plan and need to extend it longer at any time during your training, ie to 60 months, the Finance Officer will calculate how much has been paid to date & let you know what the new term & amount will be. You can of course also choose to change to a shorter payment plan. 

No, we’re sorry but there are no scholarships currently available to students entering the training.  Should you have a change in your financial circumstances (e.g. illness, loss of income, etc.) after you have started the course, then a bursary application may be considered, although funds are limited.  Bursaries are not intended for students who cannot afford the fees from the outset & who are looking for support from the outset with meeting their fee payments.  Additionally, please note that bursaries are intended only to help students meet fee payments in cases of real hardship, and are not available for help with incidental expenses like travel to retreats, books, stole, supervision, etc.

No, your place on the training will not be confirmed until your payment plan is in place and operational.  For instance, if you complete enrolment in July for the October intake, the payments will start in July and continue every month from then forwards.

Yes, but you must let the 1^st payment go through, e.g. if you sign up & initiate your payment plan on the 15^th of the month but need the subsequent payments to go through on the 27^th, we can change the subsequent payments (i.e. after the 1^st payment has gone through) to 27^th monthly.  Please write to the Finance Officer who will change your payment date from the 2^nd payment onwards.

Whilst we are willing to adjust your payment date in exceptional circumstances, this is not something that we would agree to do on a regular basis.

The credit card option works equally well with a debit card.  Don’t worry, you don’t need to apply for a credit card.

No, we can only accept Direct Debits from customers with UK Banks.  Please use the credit/debit card option if you do not have an account with a UK bank

No, we only accept payments through our charging system Chargebee, i.e. Direct Debit (for UK banks) or credit/debit card option.

The system will write to you 5 days before your card is due to expire.  There is an option to then create your own on-line account.  Please note that when you create your own on-line account, the system will ask you for an OTP = One Time Password.  This will have been texted to the mobile number you provided when setting up the on-line account.  You can then update your card details yourself.

If your card is lost or stolen, please write to the Finance Officer.  She will delete your current card details and send a “request for payment method” to you via the system.

Please do not send new card details by email

If you signed up on the 16^th, all payments will then come out on the 16^th unless you have asked to have that changed.

The system will notify you a couple of days before taking a payment from your account – this gives you the opportunity to ensure there are adequate funds in your account to cover the payment. 

You will receive an automated email via the system every time a payment is made.

If your payment has failed, for instance due to insufficient funds, you will receive an email notification, giving you the opportunity to add funds to your account to cover the next payment attempt or to make a manual payment.

The system will continue to try to take a payment on 4 different occasions. Please note that your Training Agreement includes the requirement that you ensure there are always adequate funds in your account to meet each payment.

Direct Debits take several days to be set up by the issuing bank and then several days for the payment to process.  The system will alert the Finance Officer if the Direct Debit has been unsuccessful.  Even once the Direct Debit is set up, it takes 5-7 days from the initiation of the Direct Debit to the payment actually being taken from the student’s bank. 

In this scenario, please sign up to Option 2 to complete your enrolment and secure your place on this year’s training. Then email the Finance Officer who will work with you to find a solution.  You will still be eligible for the discounted price of Option 1

We’re sorry but your place on the training is not confirmed until payment is received.  We suggest you either wait to enrol for the training, or choose Option 2 and contact the Finance Officer once your funds are in place

No, we do not carry out credit checks.  It is your responsibility to ensure:

• you have a valid payment method on file at all times
• you have sufficient funds to meet each monthly (or yearly) payment