Community Ministry Certificate FAQ
13 month-long modules placed in our online classroom will give you a brief introduction to these topics:
- Pagan history and variety, and theology basics
- Creating and leading ritual
- Diversity & cultural understanding
- Personal spiritual development and Ethics
- Serving people at various life stages
- Group leadership
- Addiction issues
- Domestic violence issues
- Lifework planning
There are no live class meetings – all media presentations, readings, web resource links and discussion lists are in our online classroom. With good internet access you can do this from anywhere in the world, any time of the day, 24/7.
Instead of a teacher, you will be assigned a faculty mentor who has experience in community ministry. That mentor will stay with you throughout your independent study, checking in with you regularly and giving you feedback and evaluations. Your mentor will also want to have phone or web meetings periodically.
When you register for the program you will submit a registration fee $20, then CHS will invoice you each month for $100. The work is self-paced, but you are expected to complete each module in the month so you can go on to the next. This means that if you are not finished with the CMC after 13 months you will continue to be charged for $100 each month until you complete the program.
If you drop out or must take a leave there is no refund. When you return, you may not be reassigned to the same faculty-mentor. If you do not pay your monthly tuition on time, your access to the classroom may be discontinued.
There are a few books that you must purchase on your own. Many of the readings will be posted in your classroom.
We have found over the years that our original plan for the student to spend a full month on the material in that section is the best, so no, you must spend thirteen months on your CMC.
The laws are different in each state. It will give you education from a respected source, and you will be better prepared to offer this service to others.
An MDiv is a full graduate degree, comparable to any graduate degree you would receive at a university or other seminary. It is often required for professional chaplaincy or paid congregational ministry. The Community Ministry Certificate is not a graduate degree or professional licensure. It is designed for the many individuals who are doing work in their own community and who need an introductory program to help them with the skills and knowledge essential to such work. You do not need a college degree in order to enter the CMC program.
Following award of your Community Ministry Certificate, you are entitled to add the initials CMC after your name. You may request that your name be listed on our web site at this page. Also, if you have received your Community Ministry Certificate from Cherry Hill Seminary, you may commission a ministerial stole. A deep green stole with the embroidered Cherry Hill Seminary official logo is exclusively designated for our Community Ministry graduates. Contact the office for more information.
Not at this time. Cherry Hill Seminary offers the highest quality Pagan-focused education at the best prices available anywhere. But we do this on a limited, donation-dependent budget. Based on the current tuition rates for other seminary programs, we believe that we offer quality distance education at a reasonable tuition rate.
Register as soon as you decide to take this step. Since the program is for independent study, there are no dates for classes, just your individual progress through the modules.
Only a few. Most readings are provided in the online classroom. You can find out what books you need ahead of time. There are a few books that you must purchase on your own. Many of the readings will be posted in your classroom.
Cherry Hill Seminary expects each of our students to take responsibility for knowing the information contained in the Student Handbook and our website, including all policies that affect your program of study. While faculty advisors are always available to assist and advise, you are expected to monitor your own progress toward the degree or certificate of your choice. Most importantly, this is a self-directed program and you are responsible not only for proper completion of assignments, but for interacting with your Faculty-Mentor and responding to their guidance.
Rewilding the Soul Ecospirituality Certificate FAQ
While many Pagan and ceremonial magic traditions honor nature and the elements, ecospirituality takes a different approach. Rather than working primarily with established ritual systems, deity forms, or magical correspondences, this program focuses on direct, embodied relationship with your specific place—the actual plants, animals, landforms, and seasonal cycles of your bioregion. Participants learn to listen to the land itself and allow spiritual practices to emerge from these living relationships. Ceremonial practitioners are welcome and may find their existing practices deepened through direct earth connection, but this program does not teach formal magical systems or ritual structures.
Students are admitted into a cohort, with a minimum size of six persons. The program is divided into 4 seasonal sections and includes weekly live sessions with contemplative practices between sessions.
20 live virtual classes meet for 90 minutes each. 16 small group meetings are on alternate weeks.
Module 1: Sacred Belonging to Place
March 18 – May 13, 2026
- Session 1: March 18
- Session 2: April 1
- Session 3: April 15
- Session 4: April 29
- Session 5: May 13
- Small groups: March 25, April 8, 22, May 6
THREE-WEEK BREAK: Weeks of Mon, May 18, May 25 & Jun 1, 2026
Module 2: Embodying Earth Soul
June 10 – August 5, 2026
- Session 1: June 10
- Session 2: June 24
- Session 3: July 8
- Session 4: July 22
- Session 5: August 5
- Small groups: June 17, July 1, 15, 29
THREE-WEEK SUMMER BREAK: Weeks of Mon, Aug 10, Aug 17 & Aug 24, 2026
Module 3: Wild Earth Spirituality
September 2 – October 28, 2026
- Session 1: September 2
- Session 2: September 16
- Session 3: September 30
- Session 4: October 14
- Session 5: October 28
- Small groups: September 9, 23, October 7, 21
TWO-WEEK BREAK: Weeks of Mon, Nov 2 & Nov 9, 2026
Module 4: Sharing Earth Gifts
November 18, 2026 – February 3, 2027
- Session 1: November 18
- Session 2: December 9
- Session 3: January 6, 2027
- Session 4: January 20
- Session 5: February 3
- Small groups: November 25 (US Thanksgiving week) or December 2, December 16, January 13, 27
Note: No live sessions on December 23 or December 30 (holiday weeks)
Live sessions meet Wednesdays for 90 minutes 12:00pm Eastern / 9:00am Pacific
Small group sessions are encouraged to meet the same day and time on the off weeks, but the small groups can set their own agreed-upon day and time.
This is a live course via Zoom. While the sessions will be recorded and shared with participants, this course is not one that can be taken fully asynchronously.
Tuition is $1800 for the full program, with payments of $450 at the beginning of each module.
Dr. Jeffrey Keefer. Click to learn more about him.
Module 1: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Module 2: The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief by Francis Weller
Module 3: The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World by David Abram
Module 4: Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone
Spiritual Direction Certificate FAQ
Students are admitted into a cohort, with a minimum size of ten persons. The two-year program is divided into 4 quarters and includes live online meetings with lectures, discussion, case studies, role playing and guest speakers, covering the following content.
- 6 hours per month for online discussions and assignments for submission.
- 5 hours per month for face-to-face meetings with the whole cohort/small groups/a study-buddy
- 1 hour per month for your spiritual director
- 3 hours per month for reviewing material
- Budget time throughout each core for interviews, one retreat per core, a book per core, an elective, an ethics course ( then during year two, seeing seekers and a supervisor.)
This program is for people who
- Have some theological background
- Are looking for a cohort-based virtual community of international learners
- Teachers from Pagan, indigenous, Catholic, Sufi, neuro-diverse, gender-diverse (and more) wisdom
- Grounded in earth-relating traditions
- Want to focus on building a community of accountability and support
- Celebrate the knowledge you are whole, holy and worthy
Admissions are rolling (year-round) with new cohorts beginning in the fall or spring when a minimum enrollment is reached.
Tuition is $3000 for the full program, with quarterly payments of $375 due at the beginning of each quarter.
The cost of the “second course of your own choosing.”
The cost of the spiritual companion/supervisor you meet with (outside of CHS).
Our Spiritual Direction Certificate Program Chair and primary instructor is Rev. Amy Beltaine, M.Div. Amy is a graduate of Unitarian Universalist Meadville Lombard School for the Ministry, Amy is a professional Spiritual Director and Supervisor, serving on the coordinating committee of the UU Spiritual Direction Network, and recent President of the Covenant of UU Pagans.
Click to learn more about her.
Each student will read 5-9 books over the course of the two-year program. Click here for a sampling of books recommended. The actual list used for the course is dynamic. Books are added as they become available
Writing As A Spiritual Practice Certificate FAQ
As part of Cherry Hill Seminary’s mission to empower spiritual leadership and scholarship, our students’ meaningful written expression is an important tool. Writings developed in the CWSP program–
- Support student participation in community events as a ritual leader;
- Encourage the articulation of theological thinking;
- Enhance personal spiritual practice;
- Produce quality reading material for children and/or young adults; and
- Create meaningful fiction and non-fiction to benefit the wider reading public.
During your time in the group you will–
- Develop a personal devotional practice of spiritual writing.
- Develop proficiency in writing in several styles/genres/modalities.
- Produce work in several styles/genres/modalities of writing as a spiritual writing practice.
- Produce at least one publishable piece per module.
- Demonstrate editing and self-editing skills on your own and others’ work.
Biweekly classes with a once-a-week critique group for 10 months, then weekly individual meetings with the instructor and the once-a-week critique group for 2 months.
Our 2026 cohort will begin June 1, 2026.
Tuition is $1500 for the full program, with quarterly payments of $375 due at the beginning of each quarter.
*Spiritual Writing Journal* by Rev. Diane Gallagher Cacciato [info to come\
Perfection of the Morning by Sharon Butala
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Diane Gallagher Cacciato, MA. Click to learn more about her.