I am a OneSpirit interfaith minister and celebrant with years of experience of being alongside people during significant times in life.
My main role is to plan, prepare and deliver a ceremony such as a legal wedding or funeral for you and your loved ones. As an interfaith minister, I am keen to provide a service which is based on your own beliefs and values and which meets your personal requirements and wishes.
I live in Lanark and cover all the main towns and villages in South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire.
I frequently conduct ceremonies in other parts
of central and southern Scotland including Edinburgh, Glasgow, West Lothian, Fife and the Scottish Borders.
I am happy to travel elsewhere in Scotland and have held ceremonies as far north as the Highlands. I have also conducted non-legal weddings and funerals in Wales and England. Please be aware that I would require reimbursement of any extra costs incurred, such as for overnight accommodation, if asked to travel some considerable distance.
Why bother having a ceremony?
Life is never static, it is constantly changing. We enter this world as babies and if we are lucky we will move through childhood into adulthood and then old age before we die. We will experience many challenges and changes, some very positive, others less so, as we live this unique life of ours.
Human beings seem to have an "in built" desire to mark many of these important transitions in life with some form of ceremony or ritual. Whether it's the birth of a baby or getting married, whether it's celebrating a significant anniversary or marking the end of a life, we want to acknowledge these times as being special and meaningful to us.
Many people in Scotland today will turn to their religious communities for guidance, comfort and support during these important times. There are others who do not consider themselves to be religious and will seek out a civil or humanist celebrant to assist them with their special event. However, there are lots of people who do not entirely embrace either humanism or a religious tradition and who prefer to live according to their own personal beliefs and values. Some of these individuals would say that they have a more spiritual view of life, rather than a religious or humanist view of life. Interfaith ministers are often asked to provide ceremonies or rituals for those who see themselves in this way. Of course, most interfaith ministers would be more than happy to respond to any enquiry, be it religious, spiritual or humanist, because an openness to diversity lies at the heart of interfaith ministry.
So if you are looking for someone who can plan, prepare and deliver a special ceremony for an important occasion, then I would be more than happy to help! What matters to me is that the ceremony is based on your wishes, beliefs and values.
About Me
Originally from Wales, I moved to Scotland when I was eighteen to study in Edinburgh and never left! I love Scotland and have lived in various parts of the country including the Central Belt, the Highlands, Orkney, the Scottish Borders, Morayshire, and have now settled in Lanark.
I’ve enjoyed a varied career. I began by working for twenty years in education at a local, regional and national level. I then spent a short time in the NHS and was a pastor for a small congregation in Edinburgh for five years. I retrained to be a counsellor and supervisor and ran a successful private practice for a number of years. My academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Divinity degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling. I have various professional qualifications including a Postgraduate Certificate in Secondary Education and a Postgraduate Certificate in Counselling Supervision. My last major period of study was a two year training course with the OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation in London. This was a profound period for me at the end of which I was ordained as a OneSpirit interfaith minister in 2016.
Being a OneSpirit interfaith minister is a delight, a privilege and a responsibility. I am aware that whilst many people find great comfort in their religious communities, many others feel alienated from established religions perhaps because of some dogma or certain religious attitudes or behaviour, or because they feel that religion has no place in the modern world. As a OneSpirit interfaith minister I acknowledge and respect these differences. However, I do believe that there is great beauty and wisdom at the heart of the various religious and spiritual traditions of the world. I also appreciate the treasure that can be discovered within Humanism. I know from personal experience that many people are nourished when they are touched by such beauty and wisdom. I don’t try to convert or impose any belief or moral value on anyone else, but seek to offer what people feel they might want or need at a given moment in life, often calling upon the powerful resources within these various traditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am both. I have been ordained as a minister and see my role as “ministering” to others, or serving others. I have also been trained as a celebrant, and have a great deal of experience of holding different kinds of ceremony.
I was born and brought up in the Christian tradition but I consider myself to be a spiritual not a religious person. You can find out more about what I mean by this in my blog, or I would be happy to talk about this distinction with you. What I do want to emphasize is that I am here to respect your beliefs and values and not to share or impose my beliefs on you.
Yes, and I would be happy to do so if that is what you require. I have a great deal of respect for Humanism however I do not consider myself to be a humanist.
I take your privacy very seriously, and have produced a Privacy Policy which outlines clearly, and in detail, how I treat your personal information. Please ask me for a copy.
I charge £150 for a “Welcome to the World” (baby naming/blessing) ceremony.
I charge £400 for a wedding ceremony. Please note that I require a non-refundable booking fee of £100 to secure the date of the wedding.
The outstanding balance of £300 must be paid no later than one week before the wedding. I charge an additional flat rate fee of £50 if couples
want me to attend a wedding rehearsal. This fee is to cover my petrol costs and expenses.
I charge £200 for a farewell ceremony (funeral/cremation/memorial service).
I am very conscious of the cost-of-living crisis which is having such a terrible effect on so many families, so I would be willing to negotiate a reduced fee in certain circumstances. Any reduction would need to be discussed with me and agreed in advance of the ceremony. Please feel free to raise this with me.
Please contact me if you want to know how much I charge for other types of ceremony.
Yes. I live in Lanark and cover all the main towns and villages in South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire, but I frequently conduct ceremonies in other parts of central and southern Scotland including Edinburgh, Glasgow, West Lothian, Fife and the Scottish Borders.
I am happy to travel elsewhere in Scotland and have held ceremonies as far north as the Highlands. I have also conducted non-legal weddings and funerals in Wales and England. Please be aware that I would require reimbursement of any extra costs incurred, such as for overnight accommodation, if asked to travel some considerable distance.
No, that is not my role and I am not legally trained to do so. However, I would be happy to point you towards those professionals who could support you. For example, I could direct you to the local registrar when thinking about certain legal aspects of a wedding. Funeral directors and solicitors are also very experienced in helping answer legal questions surrounding the death of a loved one.
I hope so! I have spent my whole working life in different professional settings which required high standards and an ongoing commitment from me. I approach my role as an interfaith minister and celebrant with the same professional commitment. I am on the Register of OneSpirit Interfaith Ministers (ROSIM) and as such I am guided by the OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation’s Code of Ethics. As a member of ROSIM, I commit to ongoing personal development and supervision, have professional indemnity insurance and agree to abide by the OneSpirit Complaints policy. I am also a member of SICA (Scottish Independent Celebrants' Association) and abide by the SICA Code of Conduct and commit to SICA's other professional requirements such as an annual Peer Review process.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the services I offer, or to arrange an initial meeting. This initial meeting can be either in person or online. We will talk about why you want a particular ceremony and will explore what you are hoping for during the service.
There will then be ongoing contact between us, the frequency will depend on the circumstances of each request.
You can also call me on 07732 851927 if you would prefer to leave a message or speak to me first. I am happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have prior to arranging an initial meeting.
© Ian Bonner-Evans
powered by WebHealer