Greetings!
Life is rich and filled with opportunities to celebrate; to mark passages that are important to our individual lives,
to the history of our family, our friends and our community. It is an honor to be able to assist
in creating sacred space, time, and language of celebration surrounding these lifetime events.
Being Happily Experienced & Well Versed...
In Officiating at the Ceremonial Celebrations of Those So Fortunate To Have Found Love,
Nurtured Relationship and Have Made the Commitment to Marry!
Marriage & Commitment Ceremonies
Witnessing Innocence of Spirit...
The Sheer and Profound Joy of Being Present in Guiding The Spiritual Dedication Of A New Child in Our Midst.
Spiritual Dedication & Baptism
Having Stood...
In Solemn Recognition of Spirit
To Honor and Offer Dignified Praise and Prayer in Witness to Those Who Have Passed On.
And Dedication of Sacred Space... A Divine Domain! Grounding, Cleansing, & Creating Sacred Place & "Altared Space" Discover Your Inspirational Haven!
And Having This Gift to Share...
By Writing Meaningful, Personalized Language
& Giving Voice to the Spiritual Milestones of Your Life.
Please feel entirely free to contact me with any questions you have. I would be more than happy to assist you in any way that I am able!
Reverend Leslie Ann Johnson
Graduate of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, M.A.
612.382.2960
rev.leslieannjohnson@earthlink.net
Spiritual Perspective of Comparative Theology Based in the Tradition of Joseph Campbell.
Member Minnesota Jung Association.
"The Invitation", by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
"It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us, to be careful, to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day.
And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire
with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."
I have been so blessed by my vocation! I am allowed to use one of my greatest creative gifts, poetic writing, in combination with an abiding sense of spiritual connection in this world. My work invites me to take part in the celebration and honoring of a love that two people have had the grace to discover, and the commitment to nurture. I attended United Theological Seminary and graduated with a Masters Degree in Religion & Theology. A large part of my interest in attending an ecumenical seminary was my desire to create bridges between faith communities.
Most of the couples that I work with do not belong to a congregation, and being outside the church might find themselves confused about how to handle their actual ceremony. Often their family background may be of a particular tradition, but they, as individuals may have decided to not follow within the footsteps of their ancestry. Very often the two families of the couple are of differing denominations. There may be a desire on the behalf of the engaged couple about how to put at ease those loved ones who would prefer that there be at least some scriptural elements involved in their ceremony. How will they express their love in a way that honors the spiritual beliefs of those present and still remain true to themselves?
One of the loveliest discoveries that I made at United Theological Seminary is that the most common denominator between denominations is that the language of Spirit is the language of Love. On a wedding day the power and grace of that love is in full bloom, and there is sacred and spiritual space present at any ceremony where love is celebrated. So the question remains, how do you celebrate it? That is my creative vocation, to give voice to that celebration. I feel entirely blessed by finding this work.
As a Ceremonial Officiant I have been in the service of creating metaphorically unique and custom matrimonial ceremonies for almost two decades. I absolutely love my work; I have the great privilege of intimately sharing in the creation of that very moment when two people declare their spiritual commitment to one another, a quite delightful and powerful way of experiencing joy. I consider myself very fortunate in that I have a wide array of time honored experience. The insight afforded me by this experience has allowed me to confidently guide very diverse couples in the creation of their ceremony. The custom language we create speaks to their individuality, their unique relationship, their connection with community, and understanding of Spirit.
