Sunkissed said:
I've heard a lot on these boards re: different ministers, but does anyone have recommendations for a rabbi who will perform (solo, no dual ceremony stuff) an interfaith service?
Over the years, I have read many nice things about the Rabbis on the FTW list. Rabbi Lefkowitzs name comes to mind, and I think I remember reading about another Rabbi, too.
If my memory hasnt failed me, I seem to remember a non-Jewish couple who had one of the Rabbis perform their ceremony. The Rabbi was kind enough to perform whatever type of ceremony the couple wanted. They were very pleased with how it had turned out.
As to my own FTW ceremony, I shared the following in another thread a few months ago:
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Choosing an officiant can either be an easy or a difficult task for you. It sometimes is a very personal decision, but not always so, since it depends upon how strong your religious beliefs are.
For me, my Number One Priority was that a woman would perform my ceremony (I wrote about this in my Planning Session Trip Report). A man performed my ceremony the first time around and I thought it would be nice to have a woman perform it the second time around.
I was fortunate that the only woman on Disneys list was available for the date of my vow renewal. My husband and I exchanged e-mail messages with her and spoke with her on the telephone. We liked her instantly and were happy that she was willing to perform our ceremony. I should note that the ceremony that she put together was perfect it wasnt too long and it wasnt too short. It was just right. She also peppered it here and there with our personal story. My husband actually got teary-eyed during the ceremony, and I did too. We have no regrets with the officiant that we chose.
Had I not been able to secure a female officiant, I would have chosen a Rabbi. No, we are not Jewish; my husband and I are both Catholic. However, due to the stance of the Diocese in Orlando, Priests were not allowed to perform ceremonies on Disney property.
Since I had read many wonderful things about the ceremonies that had been performed by the Rabbis on Disneys list, I thought selecting one would be perfect for us. If we had gone down that path, I had plans for us to begin learning the Jewish faith so that the ceremony would hold more significance for us. I thought it would be a wonderful way to not only learn more about another faith but to also bring a greater understanding of the world around us into our lives. A part of me is sad that we didnt get to take that path.
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Yes, I was going to find a Rabbi to perform our vow renewal. I dont know how much of the Jewish faith that ceremony would have incorporated, but it would have been wonderful to have included as much of it as we could. I thought it would be a wonderful way to begin looking at the world with a different set of eyes.
I suggest you get a copy of Disneys current officiant list. Contact the Rabbi(s) on that list to see what sort of ceremony can be performed for you. I know that in the past, some of the Rabbis were very free-thinking individuals who were willing to work with the couples to come up with the perfect ceremony. I hope its still the same way today.
Good luck and have fun planning.
