MINISTRY
Serving the Central Coast of CA
Non-Denominational & Secular Ministerial Services
Wedding Officiation
Ordained by Universal Life Church, I am certified to officiate wedding ceremonies anywhere in the state of California (out of state available too with 9+ months notice).
As a non-denominational faith practitioner, I can integrate and adapt to a variety of spiritual and/or religious traditions, as well as atheistic or agnostic views, to honor your special moment of connection in a way that feels genuine for you.
In the heart of my approach to this work, I acknowledge the historical gender violence inherent within the institution of marriage. While the act itself is an ancient practice of joining two lives in partnership sometimes the legal aspects detract from the ritual. But no matter how you practice, I’m here to help!
Open-Form Faith Counsel
Raised un-affiliated, I mostly grew up with community that followed Quaker, Buddhist, Jewish, Catholic, Methodist, and New Age spiritualist ideologies, with a scientific lens of humanity’s origin.
This, combined with my later studies of Islamic and Hindu teachings, and the wisdom of many Indigenous cultures of West Africa and the pre-columbian Americas, I have an abiding respect for the truth in all practices of faith, including the lack of one faith practice.
Synthesizing all I’ve learned, I am able to serve those who’ve lost faith in faith; or who practice faith through the doctrine of any given religion; or by the guidance of their inner light; or by way of science; it’s all god to me.
End of Life Stewardship
From an early age, I’ve been oddly comfortable contemplating, conversing about and honoring the process of death. Whether it be presiding over burial or cremation services, hosting celebrations of life, or next of kin support, I have a wide willingness to support.
Death is one of life’s most mysterious and powerful moments of transitions, but for those of us left here to deal with it in this life, there is a weight that can be difficult to hold alone. Let’s shoulder it together.
The grief process can often last much beyond the day of passing, or the event held to honor it; in many cases, the grief comes swelling up years later. Don’t ignore it, don’t try to bury what’s already been buried — reach out.
Unlike some of my other works, there is no $ fee associated with my ministry, though depending on expenses and time commitments (i.e. weddings and other events) there may be a stipend requested; as a baseline though, ministerial services should not be sold as a commodity, but rather offered in good faith with expectation of nothing in return…
On Faith…
The most important aspect of our humanity that has been robbed from many of us, intentionally or not, is our relationship with the natural world, with the energies and emotions of all that lives and dies, with ourselves and our origins.
Everybody finds meaning somewhere along the way, whether that be in their employment, in their duty to country, in their creative or artistic process, in their relations, or in their beliefs.
Neither of my parents were religious, and we didn’t grow up a part of any denomination or church, but they both have always encouraged a passionate interest in the spiritual realm, in meditation, in the canon of religious writings, and the intrinsic human element that we call faith.
We all have our own definitions of faith and biases regarding it, with individualized personal experiences to back up these beliefs. For me, this phenomenon started very early, before my birth, before my mother had even learned my name to be.
When I was just a bun in the oven my mother visited with our family friend, affectionately known as Psychic Sandy, to receive a divined reading for my coming life. All she told my folks is that I would grow up to be a Minister.
I began meditating even before I could start forming memories. Influenced by my grandparent’s fascination with Zen Buddhism, and early childhood exposure to the Quaker process of Worship, sitting in stillness and silence grew to be second nature.
As a kid, I had the privilege to travel the world; from Italy, to Indonesia, to Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica, to the UK, France, and many different corners of the USA. Growing up, I was always absorbing a wide variety of cultural traditions, all the while witnessing how every organized society is inherently informed by the faith practices imbedded within it.
No society is the same, but every society operates under the natural order of itself. We are the relationship between ourselves and the elements within which we live.
Slowly but surely I realized that all the essential aspects of any society, modern or antiquated, are inseparable from one another: language, government, commerce, education, arts, food, architecture, science and faith, all congeal to become culture.
But living in the culture of the United States of America, as a young person growing up white within whiteness, I felt like I was missing any honest connection to the element of faith.
I felt like I was missing something. I could see those in the world around me believing in their own understanding of faith. Meanwhile, it was as if everything I’d learned about it was simply theoretical.
What has followed me throughout my twenties is this journey toward finding true faith. Raised without religious doctrine, with a scientific reliance on reason, and at least anecdotal appreciation for literally ALL practices of faith, this was not a question of choosing a religion to believe in, but rather a burning need to know what faith actually is.
This is what has brought me into this sacred work: the learning from, honoring of and navigating semantic differences of the most sacred texts known to this planet.
I synthesize modern translations of books like the Qur’an, the Bible and the Talmud, with occultic, creative, and scientific works — like Psychonaut, The Prophet, and The New Universe & The Human Future, as well as many many more — into a comprehensive canonical story of humanity’s primal need to understand itself.
At the center of my faith, exist practices of experimentation and semiotic study, known to many as “magic”. If you’re interested in the ideas of magical study, and the numerous ways it overlaps with every traditional religious institution on the planet, reach out…
– Gabriel Kittle-Cervine
