Ordination

While each congregation has the right to ordain anyone it chooses, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association discourage the ordination of those who have not had academic and practical training provided by an accredited theological school, and who have not been welcomed into preliminary fellowship. How a congregation determines whom they will ordain is determined by congregational polity.

For ministers who have gone through the UUA's credentialing process and have been granted Preliminary Fellowship by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee, the UUA asks that they notify our office of their ordination so they may receive an ordination certificate. Once the ordination date has been set, an ordination certificate may be requested by completing the Ordination Certificate Request.

We suggest you request the document at least two weeks prior to your ordination. It is highly recommended that all signatures be collected at the event. Once the certificate is complete, send a scanned copy via email to apoudel@uua.org. Alternatively, you may mail a photocopy to the Unitarian Universalist Association, Attn. Professional Development Assistant, 24 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210-1409. The certificate will be placed in the minister's file.

An Ordination and Installation Manual (PDF) is available for suggestions on planning the service.