Terms & Conditions of our Ministry Training programme

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be certified as a graduate of OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation. If mutually agreed between you and OneSpirit, you will be eligible to be ordained as an interfaith minister and can then choose to use the title of Reverend, not as a mark of status but as a reminder of your reverence for all life, signifying a quiet acceptance of an inner spiritual authority that is both radical and profound.

If you choose to enter into 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. Please also note that in those jurisdictions where ministers are eligible to apply for nomination to registers as legal wedding solemnisers or officiants, we will only support applications from ROSIM members. Furthermore, we will not support ministers seeking to transfer from being nominated by OneSpirit to another nominating body.

Please note that ordination requires an ongoing, deep commitment to OneSpirit’s Code of Ethics. OneSpirit reserves the right to revoke your status as an interfaith minister if you are found to be in breach of this code.

Course fees include:

• All classes.
• All curriculum materials and resources.
• Ongoing support from an assigned group tutor throughout the training.
• Vouchers towards the cost of supervision sessions through the two years.

Fees do not include:

• Reference books

• Travel to retreats, study group meetings, or to Ordination at end of Y2

• Ordination stole (optional)

• Any supplements incurred for special diets if required on retreats

Please note: The cost of our Linden Path includes a £170 discount for the early booking of retreats. Therefore, we are unfortunately not able to offer students the option to transfer from the Rowan path to the Linden should they wish to attend all three retreats. However, it is still possible to book a space, at the additional cost of £440 per retreat. Please note that these places are limited and bookings should be made at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

Cancellation and refunds

Right to Cancel:

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason, and you will be entitled to a full refund of any fees paid to date.

The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day this contract was agreed. To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel this contract by sending us a clear statement in writing to Abi Aiyegbayo, Head of Finance and Operations, by email to admin@osif.org.uk.

Withdrawing from the course before training has commenced

Please understand that we incur cost commitments for tutors and venues in line with the number of students enrolled. Therefore, once the cancellation period has expired, the following refund policy will be applied:

• If you withdraw from the course for any reason before training has commenced, you will be liable for a £500 leaving fee. All tuition fees paid to date will be refunded minus this £500 fee.

Leaving the course after it has started:

1. The first 3 calendar months following the commencement of the training are an attunement period. If during this attunement period you leave the course for any reason, you are liable to pay for your training to date, calculated on a pro-rata basis (see #6 below). You will not need to pay an additional leaving fee.

    

2. If you leave the course from the start of the fourth calendar month following the commencement of the course onwards then the full year’s fees will be due for payment.

    

3. If you choose to leave the course after the end of Year One, you must give us written notice by 1 September or you will be liable for the full fees for the second year.

    

4. After commencing the second year the full fees will be due, regardless of the leaving date.

    

5. We reserve the right to ask students to leave the course at any time. In this case, you will only be liable for fees that are due up to the date of departure.
   
   
6. For the purposes of the attunement period payment and refunds, fees are calculated over 20 months (i.e. 10 months for each year of training), and you will continue to pay for your training until you have paid for 3-months’ worth of fees, and any refunds due will be also awarded on this basis.
   

Limitation of liability

OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage caused to the student or the student’s property while attending training, provided that this clause shall not exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation’s own negligence. Notwithstanding any other provision contained in this Agreement under no circumstances (including cancellation) will OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation accept liability, whether in contract, tort (inclusive of negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise for:

• any increased costs or expenses;

• any loss of profit, business or contracts;

• any damage or loss, including special, indirect or consequential damage of any nature whatsoever, provided that nothing in these provisions shall limit OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation’s liability for death or personal injury resulting from its negligence or breach of statutory duty.

Dates and locations

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 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 a residential teaching session or retreat being cancelled due to Covid-19 or other circumstances beyond our control, we will make alternative arrangements to ensure the training continues. This may include moving the training online until circumstances permit. We will not make any refunds or rebates on tuition fees in respect of such cancellations.

There will be no refunds or rebates for students who are unable to attend a retreat.

NB: If at a later date, you opt to change study centre and join a different class, these terms and conditions, including the financial T&Cs set out below, will continue to apply.

Financial terms and conditions

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. To make our training more accessible, we offer extended payment plans for up to 60 months. Please note that 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.

Students must remain fully up to date with fee payments, in line with the agreed payment plan at all times. Please note that 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. Payment must be made on time, in full, and without any deduction, set-off or counterclaim. In the event that an account is outstanding, and we are unable to reach an agreement with you to resolve this, we may refer the matter to a debt collection agency which will incur additional costs. Any costs incurred to collect the debt will be added to the debt, plus VAT at the prevailing rate. You agree that you will be legally liable to pay us that surcharge and that payment of the same can be enforced against you in court.

NB: 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.