Joseph Campbell              

YOUR WEDDING, YOUR WAY!

Thank you for your interest in personalized ceremonies! I am a minister in the liberal religious tradition ~ dedicated to the free and conscious search for truth. Bring your own beliefs and values with you and I will weave them into your ceremony. Over the last 15 years I have created more than 600 weddings and look forward to making your wedding perfect for you -- unique, personalized, elegant, memorable, fun!

My specialties are in interfaith, humanistic, ethnic, Celtic and "eco" weddings. Many of the ceremonies I do are out in Nature and I love to accommodate the special needs for that kind of ceremony. I also offer special wedding packages if you are eloping, renewing vows, creating a public ceremony after being legally married, looking for a co-officiant, marrying after divorce, wanting to include your children in the ceremony, marrying in an unusual location, coming from abroad to be married in the U.S., and all sorts of other special circumstances.

My deep and abiding interest in the role of STORY and RITUAL in human life has made me keenly aware of how important it is to build upon the specific words and images that inhabit the personal imagination. Simply borrowing other people's ideas about what a wedding is or should be does not give the grounding for a satisfying ceremony. I work with every couple to create, from the depths of your own hearts and minds, the perfect ceremony that expresses your core values and your highest aspirations. Only with this kind of depth preparation will your ceremony truly become the lasting fountain of inspiration that it is meant to be.

My gradute degrees from the University of Chicago Divinity School, the Unitarian seminary and Chicago Theological Seminary have prepared me to work with rigorous intellectual and spiritual honesty to do justice to this profoundly important event in your life. I am especially interested in INTERFAITH CEREMONIES which weave together important aspects from both spouse's traditions. My passion for interfaith dialogue has led me around the world, including a tremendous pilgrimage to India where I had the privilege of meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. (see below)

For many years I have explored the role of ritual, symbol and story in human communities. My long association with mythologist Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth, Follow Your Bliss, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, etc.) has alerted me to the need for RITUAL ELDERS who understand how to help individuals move through the great stages of life. While it may be possible for anyone to become a mail-order minister, it takes training and experience to recognize the deep lineaments of metaphor and the truths they hold for the soul. In brief, ritual is a container to hold energy as it transitions from one state to another resulting in true transformation. To create rituals that do this is my expertise. This is what you are paying me for when you engage my services.

I have created numerous kinds of weddings and commitment ceremonies:  Celtic ~ Humanist ~ Green ~ Interfaith  ~ Traditional.  LOOK UNDER WEDDINGS FOR EXAMPLES OF ALL THESE STYLES!  In all of these ceremonies, the goal is to find just the right words and images to bring YOUR essential truths to the surface and to celebrate the true uniqueness of your relationship.

It is my promise to work with you both before and after the wedding to make your marriage the heaven on earth you believe it can be. To that end I can lead you through A LOVING PRE-NUP to assist you in clarifying your vision and mission for the marriage partnership. I also offer pre-marital and post-marital counseling  to help you if the storm of crisis threatens to drown your hopes. I am a certified practitioner of the Prepare/Enrich Guidance Program. Please request a brochure.

This year I joined the ranks of "blissful brides" when I got married in my backyard garden. The ceremony was unusual because it was based on a dream I had after meeting my husband-to-be. To read about my experience of getting married, see the page called Rebecca's Wedding.

 I look forward to working with you in whatever your ceremonial need is!

Rebecca, at age 20, with Joseph Campbell (left) and her parents, Goerge & Gerry Armstrong.

Rev. Rebecca greeting the Dalai Lama in India ~ 2001

Rev. Dr. Rebecca Armstrong is an ordained Humanist Minister with the Humanist Society of Friends and has officiated over six hundred�weddings since 1992. She has graduate degrees from the University of Chicago Divinity School and Meadville-Lombard, the Unitarian-Universalist seminary. In 2004 she received her doctorate from Chicago Theological Seminary. A professional�musician and mythologist, she worked for twelve years as OutReach Director with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, leading seminars around the world on the importance of myth and ritual in contemporary life. She is the co-founder of Friends of Compassion - an interfaith service ministry - and co-led a pilgrimage to India where her group met with the Dalai Lama (see photo above) and initiated service projects among the Tibetan refugees and the Saddun Women's Collective. As a minister, she has been a guest preacher, educator and workshop leader in churches around the country and abroad. Her work has received wide attention in the media and she has been published in magazines, journals and books. She is a certified mediator and offers sessions in conflict resolution for individuals and couples.

She meets with couples in her downtown Chicago office on weekday evenings and weekends, and from her home in northwest Indiana. You are invited to set-up a free half hour meeting to determine if you would like to work with her for your ceremony or for counseling.

Rebecca D. Armstrong, D.Min
tel:847-707-1781
email: Ceremonies@aol.com

Office Address: 151 N. Michigan Ave ~ Suite #905 ~ Chicago, IL ~ 60601

 

My office is conveniently located in downtown Chicago at the Millenium Park Plaza.

That's the NE corner of Michigan and Randolph across from Millennium Park,
kitty-corner from The Chicago Cultural Center

It is easily accessed by the Randolph Street Metra station; South Shore Line; CTA Michigan Ave busses; and the red, blue, orange, green and purple lines of the CTA.

The ground level restaurant, La Strada Ristorante, offers valet parking during lunch and dinner hours to building patrons, and the J. Randolph Spots Pub, also located on the first floor, offers a casual and inexpensive place to meet for further conversation before or after. Other public parking garages are available. Here is a MapQuest link for your use:


http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&formtype=address&searchtype=address&cat=&address=151%20N%20Michigan%20Ave&city=Chicago&state=IL&zipcode=60601%2d7506&searchtab=home

In 2008 I will be meeting couples on Tuesday evenings, Friday afternoons and evenings, Saturdays and some Sundays. For other times, please call and see if special arrangments can be made.

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This website is copyrighted by Rebecca D. Armstrong and was last updated December 26, 2007