There are six temple priests at Clouds in Water Zen Center who are available to perform ceremonies (Sosan, Myo-O, Shujo, Raisei, Eido and Fish). They will create personalized wedding or commitment ceremonies, funerals, memorials, baby welcoming ceremonies or other customized rituals either here at the center or at the site of your choice. Through ceremony, you have the opportunity to acknowledge important stages in your lives. Buddhist ceremonies can help you to open to joy, sorrow, deep intention, loving care for others and letting go. You do not need to be Buddhist in order to have one of our priests lead your ceremony—we are open to working with you whatever your background.
For wedding or commitment ceremonies, we will help you craft a ritual that best expresses your own relationship and your journey of commitment to each other. Using a Buddhist wedding outline, or your own outline, we will create a ceremony that includes vows, readings, symbolic gestures and/or songs that are meaningful to you. Four of our priests (Sosan, Myo-O, Shujo and Eido) are certified to provide pre-marriage or couples counseling using the nationally developed Prepare/Enrich counseling program (the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is available as an alternative method through Sosan).
For funerals or memorials, we will work with you to plan a service that best honors the life of the deceased and helps family and friends to experience their grief in a safe and supportive environment.
For all ceremonies, we will work with you to plan a service that best honors the occasion and helps you and your family and friends to embrace the life changes that the ceremony marks.
Suggested donations for ceremonies vary depending on the type of ceremony. All donations listed are suggested amounts. Let us know if you would have any difficulties with payments. Many of our priests are willing to negotiate a solution that will work with your financial situation. Ceremonies done at Clouds in Water will have an additional rental fee. Priests who are doing ceremonies outside of the Twin Cities metropolitan area may request a mileage reimbursement.
Clouds in Water members may take note that guiding teacher Byakuren Judith Ragir is available to perform ceremonies on a limited basis for members only.
For information on the individual priests, please see the bios listed below. If you are not sure which temple priest you would like to work with, please contact Amy Leintz at 651-222-6968, ext. 1 or email: Otherwise, please contact the individual priest directly.
Please select the priest you are most interested in working with from the list below. If your first choice is not available for the date you need, we will refer you to another. Please do not send inquiries to all priests at once. If you need general information, are unsure of your selection, or do not have a preference, please contact Amy Leintz at 651-222-6968, ext. 1 or email to
Rev. Sosan Theresa Flynn
c/o Clouds in Water Zen Center
308 Prince St., Suite 120
St. Paul, MN 55101
Temple: 651-222-6968, ext. 2
Home: 651-641-1091
Email:
Website: http://sosanflynn.blogspot.com/
“When a couple vows to be together, this is a powerful spiritual turning. It is an honor for me to be a witness to this and to help with the journey however I can.” Sosan enjoys working with couples from many different religious backgrounds, as well as those who are non-religious. She has experience bringing elements from other faiths into wedding ceremonies, as well as helping couples create their own ritual elements. Sosan also offers optional pre-marriage counseling to couples using the Prepare/Enrich Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or a customized plan. She was ordained a Zen Buddhist priest in 1997, and has been officiating at weddings since 2004. Sosan has also officiated at many other ceremonies, such as baby naming ceremonies, memorial services, daily Zen liturgies and special liturgies. She has ten years of experience giving lectures and teaching classes on meditation and mindful living. Sosan serves part-time as executive director of Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul. She was raised Catholic and practiced Catholicism for 36 years before embracing Buddhism as her primary religion. Sosan has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She lives in St. Paul with her husband of twenty years and their nine-year-old son.
Rev. Myo-O Marilyn Habermas-Scher
3429 Bryant Ave. So.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Phone: 952-259-1468
Email:
Website: http://www.marilynmyo-o.com/mentoring.html
“Living in vow” was one of the most powerful teachings of Katagiri-roshi, Myo-O’s root teacher. Living in vow with one’s beloved is a powerful gift to the couple making the vow, the community who witnesses it and to seven generations in both directions. She is experienced at weaving together a ceremony that includes elements from several faith traditions and that reflects the values and aspirations of each couple. She also offers optional pre-marriage counseling. Myo-O can speak and chant in a number of languages including Italian, Latin, French, Hebrew, English, Pali, and Sanskrit. Myo-O was ordained a Soto Zen Buddhist priest in 2000 and has been performing weddings since 2002. She has also officiated at memorial services as well as at daily Zen liturgies and ceremonial liturgies. She has been helping people awaken to their depth and beauty for over thirty years in her private practice of VoiceWork™ and she has been teaching meditation and classes in Zen practice, leading retreats and offering lectures for ten years. Presently she works as an inter-faith chaplain at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview and at Hennepin County Medical Center. She lives with her husband of twenty-nine years in Minneapolis and her twenty-six year old daughter lives in NYC.
Rev. Shujo Brent Derowitsch
4940 33rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone: 612-824-4523
Email:
When two people live together in vow it can be a joyful and sacred as well as challenging and growth-filled journey. Shujo values being with couples as they prepare for and begin their journey. He enjoys working with people to create ceremonies that are meaningful to them. He has experience in helping couples bring together readings, music, and symbols to create a ritual that expresses the couple’s intentions and values. He has worked with couples of different faith traditions and of no faith. Shujo offers optional pre-marriage counseling using the Prepare/Enrich inventory as a starting point for couples to talk about how they see themselves and their relationship. Shujo offers other ceremonies to celebrate or mark life passages such as house blessings, baby naming ceremonies, blessings for the sick, and memorial services. He gives lectures and teaches classes on meditation and mindful living in different settings. He also offers spiritual direction. Shujo was ordained a Zen Buddhist priest in 2007 and has officiated at marriage ceremonies since 2006. He just finished a residency as a hospital chaplain at Fairview Southdale Hospital and has begun a master’s program in theology at St. John’s University. Shujo appreciates his Catholic formation even as he practices Zen Buddhism. He lives in Minneapolis with his life partner of 5 years.
Rev. Raisei Marc Anderson
P.O. Box 14374
St. Paul, MN 55114
Phone: 651-645-1496
Email:
Website: http://www.fathands.com/dharmaMedia.htm
The ritual rite of marriage is a profound and important step for couples, their families and the community. The aspiration to love and be loved unconditionally is a deep yearning for us and in the union of two people we uphold, encourage and celebrate that intention in the world. I am honored to offer my time, heart and office to this important step in a couple’s life. The style of the ceremony and the depth of my involvement in the process is established on a case by case basis. I have been practicing Zen for more than 20 years. I am an ordained priest in the Soto Zen lineage and I continue serving my community as a teacher, administrator and student. I lead retreats and offer classes and workshops on mindfulness to Christian communities, schools and corporate workplaces. I am an accomplished musician, composer and music educator. I have studied drumming in Ghana, China and Brazil and performed all over the world. I am an adjunct professor of Anthropology at Hamilne University, the director of numerous drum groups and an active speaker and clinician.
Rev. Eido Phoebe Reinhart
3950 Brunswick Ave. So.
St. Louis Park, MN 55415
Phone: 952-848-0433
Email:
Rev. Flying Fish Barbara Murphy
2028 Kenwood Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55405
Phone: 612-377-5338
Email:
Basic wedding/commitment ceremony
All of our weddings and commitment services are personalized to create a ceremony that is uniquely your own. We provide not only a temple priest, but also a ceremonial attendant. Typically, the temple priest would do the following to cultivate a wonderful wedding or commitment ceremony for you:
The ceremony can be just what you want it to be—we are very flexible. We can give you an outline for a ceremony or work with your outline. If you wish, we can help you develop symbolic gestures that express who you are as a couple, where you are from and where you are going. We can also help you: personalize your vows, select readings and/or songs meaningful to you, and symbolically include the support of family and friends.
Suggested donation: $500. This covers payment to both the priest and the attendant, as well as a small administrative fee to Clouds in Water Zen Center. Please note that this is the suggested donation. Let us know if you would have any difficulties with the amount. Many of our priests are willing to negotiate a solution that will work with your financial situation.
Wedding/commitment ceremony with pre-marriage counseling
Pre-marriage counseling gives you the tools that help you build a strong marriage. Whether you have currently identified potential problems in your relationship or not, pre-marriage counseling gets your marriage off to a strong and wholesome start, allowing you to enter more deeply into a wondrous and enriching relationship. As marriage is one of the most significant events in your life, why not nurture it in the best way possible? For pre-marriage counseling, you’ll both take an inventory designed just for your situation (first marriage, re-marriage, etc.) and we’ll use the results of the inventory as a jumping off point for discussion and growth. The basic inventory is the Prepare/Enrich inventory. One of our priests, Sosan Flynn, also offers the Myers-Briggs Type Indication as an alternative. A customized pre-marriage counseling plan may also be arranged. Talk to the individual priests for more information.
This option (wedding with pre-marriage counseling) includes all of the elements of the basic wedding/commitment ceremony (above) plus 6 sessions of pre-marriage counseling. Typically, the counseling will include the following topics:
Suggested donation: $930. This covers payment to both the priest and the attendant, payment to the counselor (usually the same person as the priest), the cost of scoring of the inventory, and a small administrative fee to Clouds in Water Zen Center. Please note that this is the suggested donation. Let us know if you would have any difficulties with the amount. Many of our priests are willing to negotiate a solution that will work with your financial situation.
Wedding/commitment ceremony with rental of Clouds in Water Zen Center
This includes all of the elements of the basic wedding/commitment ceremony (above) plus rental of Clouds in Water space for the wedding and reception. Reception must be self-catered and the couple must provide two to three people to come early to help with set-up and stay later to help with clean-up. Clouds in Water space rental is only available for small weddings (up to 70 people).
Suggested donation: $900. This covers payment to both the priest and the attendant, and a $400 payment to Clouds in Water Zen Center for rental and administration. Please note that this is the suggested donation. Let us know if you would have any difficulties with the amount. Many of our priests are willing to negotiate a solution that will work with your financial situation.
Wedding/commitment ceremony with pre-marriage counseling and rental of Clouds in Water Zen Center
This includes all of the elements of the basic wedding/commitment ceremony (above) plus 6 sessions of pre-marriage counseling using the Prepare/Enrich inventory, AND rental of Clouds in Water space for the wedding and reception. Reception must be self-catered and the couple must provide two to three people to come early to help with set-up and stay later to help with clean-up. Clouds in Water space rental is only available for small weddings (up to 70 people).
Suggested donation: $1,330. This covers payment to both the priest and the attendant, payment to the counselor (one of our priests and usually the same person who does your ceremony), the cost of scoring of the inventory, and a $400 payment to Clouds in Water Zen Center for rental and administration. Please note that this is the suggested donation. Let us know if you would have any difficulties with the amount. Many of our priests are willing to negotiate a solution that will work with your financial situation.
Pre-marriage counseling only
Perhaps you already have someone who will perform your wedding but you would like to have pre-marriage counseling. This may be an option, so let us know if you are interested.
Suggested donation: $400. This covers payment to the priest/counselor and a small administrative fee to Clouds in Water Zen Center. Please note that this is the suggested donation. Let us know if you would have any difficulties with the amount. Many of our priests are willing to negotiate a solution that will work with your financial situation.
These ceremonies are individualized according to your situation and what you want from the service. For members of Clouds in Water, these services are provided completely by donation. For non-members, we will suggest an amount based on the time involved in preparing and performing the ceremony. For funerals, the standard suggested donation is $500 (or $900 if it is to be at Clouds in Water Zen Center). For other ceremonies, we will determine a suggested donation based on $50 per hour of the priest’s time in preparing and performing the ceremony.
Funerals
Priests at Clouds in Water Zen Center are available to help you plan a traditional Zen service, or a service that has a Buddhist tone but is made by you and your family. This can be at the Zen Center or a place of your choice. Email
for an outline that will help you plan a funeral service.
Memorial Services
A short service including offerings, chants and a dedication to the deceased can be done at Clouds in Water Zen Center or at a place of your choosing. Frequently this is done as part of a morning meditation at the Zen Center. Contact
for more information.
At Home Memorial Service (a personal 49 day dedication)
In the Buddhist teaching, it takes 49 days for the dissolution of the karmic ties of a unique person. Prayers and chanting help the deceased and also help with the grieving process. Individuals can perform this daily dedication in private at home.