ABOUT INTERFAITH MARRIAGES
It is disappointing to many a couples, that their clergy or a parent insists that the other person convert to their faith tradition, some do, and some fake it and some are not comfortable with the idea. The couple is deeply committed to marry, they go ahead and get married any way without the ceremony, but sorely miss out on the integral part of their ceremony, sometim
es leaving a sense of inexplicable incompleteness in their lives. Marriage is between two individuals, and their families and friends are supporters and cheerleaders to celebrate and complete their joy. Mike Ghouse is committed to perform interfaith weddings to complete the joy of wedding ceremony for these couples. He is a member of the American Marriage Ministries, The Ministry is a non-profit organization established in Washington State in 2009 to provide people the ability to celebrated marriages according to their own terms. As a Pluralist, Mike officiates the weddings of such couples, and optionally delivers a sermon to reflect the essence of humanity in respecting the otherness of other, and accepting each other's uniqueness. If the couple prefers to fulfil the religiosity of the parents, relatives and friends, the sermon would be tailored to include reflections and essence of the faith of the couple. Even though the couple may not be religious, they would still prefer to have a semblance of it in the most important moment of their life. Mike is Founder and President of Foundation for Pluralism – www.foundationforpluralism.com and teaches essence of every faith, and he is a member of the American Marriage Ministries, a non-profit established in Washington State in 2009. "We provide all people the ability to celebrate marriage and other religious functions according to their beliefs. We believe that this is an innate human right and is also protected by the 1st Amendment. Our values come from the understanding that all people, whether religious or not, have deep personal values and should be treated with respect, acceptance, and understanding." Marriage is a celebration that brings people together, and we want to extend that ethos further by being a church comprised of a wide cross-section of people that have found common ground in the service of bringing people together. To begin, the legal dimension to officiating a wedding simply involves completing a piece of paper, the marriage license. It is filed for by the couple from their local government prior to the wedding. The role of the minister is to conduct the wedding, have the couple present their marriage license, make sure that the information is correct, and complete the license. The couple then returns the completed license back to its office of issuance. Personally, Mike is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, interfaith, politics and civic affairs. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily. Two books are poised to be released this year on Pluralism in America, and Americans Together building a cohesive America. Details at www.MikeGhouse.net
