About Rev. Amanda Tate

I am a nondenominational interfaith minister serving the spiritual needs of Baltimore, Maryland and the surrounding vicinities. Having discovered that working with brides and grooms to create the wedding ceremony of their dreams is much more rewarding than I had ever anticipated, I focus much of my energy officiating weddings. It is my honor to offer organized, courteous, dependable and --- most importantly --- flexible wedding ceremony services to couples in the Baltimore/Washington area.

For me, "nondenominational interfaith" means that no one particular faith is any more or less relevant than another. I believe that at their foundations, most religions and philosophies share fundamental principles and values. Therefore, I make every effort to honor the many belief systems, backgrounds and heritages comprising the diverse community of Baltimore. Because I also believe that we have all chosen to follow a different route to the same final destination, I appreciate each person's unique connection to Spirit. Providing that it brings harm to no one and no thing, I respect whatever path each person has chosen to walk in this life.

My ordination followed five years of intense study at schools in the Baltimore area. From 1998 - 2002, I matriculated in a rigorous curriculum emphasizing comparative religion, philosophy, self-observation, meditation and metaphysics. In May 2002, I was proud to complete the four-year program and graduate. Almost immediately, I felt drawn to more practical applications of all of the academic information I had spent four years collecting. Pulled to serve the community in a broader capacity, I became involved with The Sanctuary Spiritual Science Congregation & School, a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) Maryland corporation providing spiritual education, support and fellowship to the Greater Baltimore area. Studying with the Founder and Director (and also a former teacher), Rev. Joyce A. Klein, I completed the Sanctuary's Ministerial Program. In April 2003, I was ordained Minister of Spiritual Science. For those unfamiliar with Spiritual Science, I believe it is, most simply, a "philosophical approach to spirituality." I characterize its tenets as similar to the principles, purposes and sources of Unitarian Universalism.

In addition to preparing and performing weddings, I work with couples to perform house blessings, baby-naming ceremonies, and memorial services. In recent years, I have also volunteered time to The Sidran Institute. Trained in the compassionate administration of the sacraments, I am a skilled writer, and I have been complimented as an engaging, versatile and polished public speaker.