The following is excerpted from my Celebrancy website at www.PhillipsCeremonies.Com

I am an ordained Multi-faith minister and certified Celebrant based in New York City, where I was born and raised. Many parts of my life have brought me to my Multi-faith ministry and the practice of Celebrancy, which I view as spiritual callings as well a livelihood.

My lifelong study of the religions, ceremonies and myths of many cultures, including Judaism and the spiritual traditions of North America, Old Europe and the East, has given me a broad reservoir of concepts and ideas to incorporate into my work. My training in re-evaluation and co-counseling and as an oral historian, my work in hospices and with crisis hotlines, and my own life’s journey have made me an empathetic and careful listener. I have a broad general knowledge of poetry and literature, and am a trained public speaker. Also, my 25 year career as a journalist has developed my interviewing skills to a professional level, and strengthened my ability to take complicated ideas and to express them in direct and accessible ways. I have also been a theatrical stage manager and sound designer. I am 51 years old, and am the proud father of a wonderful 14 year old son, Noah.

I made the following statement of purpose and promise at my ordination:

“I know from experience that spirit is real, and that it lives in us and through us, and sometimes even in spite of us. I believe that our everyday lives are the altar, or the stage, or the playground, where the sacred is discovered and expressed by us – always in this present moment, and always in our actual real lives. We are nature too, and so our lives have rhythms, and there are milestones along our path. It is my joy and my honor to offer my service to people as they acknowledge, affirm and celebrate these moments, to help reveal the radiance in everyday life, and to say “yes” to their own lives, the lives of their loved ones, and to the community and the world at large. I promise to devote myself to their service as they wish to be served, to the best of my ability and skill. I give my heart to this work and to them. May it be for a blessing.”