Ministry of love

Reverend provides couples with spiritual guidance

Pam Schiff
Posted 2/25/15

Working with interfaith and same-sex couples who want to get married, the Rev. Deborah Faith helps make their dreams come true.

Faith also works with “traditional” couples looking for a more …

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Ministry of love

Reverend provides couples with spiritual guidance

Posted

Working with interfaith and same-sex couples who want to get married, the Rev. Deborah Faith helps make their dreams come true.

Faith also works with “traditional” couples looking for a more spiritual than religious experience.

Born and raised in Warwick, she graduated from Veterans High School in 1990. She was very involved with the West Bay CYO organization while in high school, and there learned to minister to her peers in spiritual roles.

She then attended Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a certificate in human resources.

“The liberal arts education was rich in theology, philosophy and humanities, but what I loved most was reaching people through counseling and during spiritual events like retreats,” Faith said. She also served as a peer counselor while in high school and college.

Faith has three children. She is divorced, but is working on rebuilding her relationship with her ex-husband.

“My name was Deborah Mortimer when I was growing up. I then married Tom Gleadow and took his name,” she said. “After our divorce, I really wanted to have my own identity. I decided to legally change my name to Deborah Catherine Faith. Faith is my confirmation name and I love it. It certainly suits my profession, and it is something I gave myself when I was 16.”

All her life, Faith was drawn to weddings and the concept of marriage.

“When I was a little girl, if we drove by a church and the bride was outside, I would make my mom pull over so I could watch,” she said.

When taking her first Reiki training 11 years ago, which was a contemplative time in her life, she became inspired to become a minister who could marry couples that did not belong to a church.

“I continue to minister to ‘spiritual but not religious’ people who are dynamic members of their community and family,” she said.

Faith has seen an upsurge in couples that want a spiritual ceremony. She sees her role as a reverend to be open and available to the couple and make the day all about them and their wishes.

She is an ordained minister and attended Divinity School in the early 2000s.

“I know that my calling is to minister in this way to couples who do not belong to a church. I believe that if they are not called to be involved with a church, then that is their truth and I am to honor that and not judge,” she said. “I bring the light of God to them and their wedding day. I am not called to convert people. I am [called] to meet them where they are.”

Faith spends a good deal of time with all her couples, learning about their relationships, their journeys through life and how they want their love expressed on their special day.

“Ministering to same-sex couples who have been together for many years who finally get to be legally married, that has been such an honor,” she said.

One ceremony that specifically stands out for her is a vow renewal ceremony for a couple in a nursing home.

“It was their 64th wedding anniversary. The facility decorated for the event, members of the family did readings. There were blessings offered. It was an uplifting environment,” she said.

Years back, she married a young couple that was eloping, and no one knew except their witnesses. Years later, they remembered her and asked her to perform their wedding in Virginia.

“I love that they remembered me, and I was so happy that they had stayed together while she was in grad school and he was in the Navy. They are still going strong,” she said.

Seeing some trends in the industry, Faith has noticed how much easier it is to find a minister.

“When I first stared, the ministers like me were either online or word of mouth, and there were not many of us. Now, 11 years later, it seems like a very saturated market,” she said.

Faith has some friends who do what she does, and she appreciates that they are similar in how they honor people.

“If I am ministering a couple, then my whole heart goes into it,” she said. “I fully engage with their process and offer any support that they may need.”

The last few years, Faith has been working harder at supporting those couples that are already married.

“Perhaps because of my divorce, I want to help couples to keep their families together,” she noted.

Faith has recently started to extend her ministering to families for funerals.

“One of my gifts is I feel a connection, as if I have known the family forever,” she said.

Faith recalled the grandparents of a couple she married four years ago, calling her up and asking her to preside over their funerals when the time came.

She hopes to have her own congregation down the line where she can also provide guidance, strength and support for people wherever they are on their journey through life.

To reach Faith, visit her website at www.DeborahCFaith.com.

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