For The Training of Interfaith Ministers

Mission Statement

All Faiths Seminary International is dedicated and committed to foster respect and honor to the integrity of the individual and the individual’s own spiritual search and path. We welcome students from all faiths and all spiritual traditions including those who do not practice or follow a particular religious traditions.

Rev. Gary Deinstadt, a graduate of All Faiths Seminary said it best:

In our world there exists much that separates us: our fenced borders, our cultures, races, age, politics and our religions. AFSI founder and interfaith icon, Rabbi Joseph H. Gelberman, believed that a greater understanding and knowledge of what separates us could only help bring us closer together.

All Faiths Seminary International not only honors and sees the truth in all religions, they honor and see the truth in all people; the more we get to know each other, the more we’ll grow to love one another.

Our school is changing the world one person at a time through a ministerial program that educates, trains, and empowers Ordained Interfaith Ministers to go out in the world to better serve their community.

- Rev. Gary Deinstadt

Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.

- Anonymous

 Offering Interfaith Ministerial Programs

All Faiths Seminary is the only Interfaith Seminary in the world that offers an opportunity to become an Interfaith Minister with an A Course in Miracles or a Judaic Studies Track (1-Yr) and
a 2-yr Interfaith Minister with a Spiritual Counseling Track (2-yrs)
We are also the only Interfaith Seminary in the world that offers a
2-yr ACIM Master’s Program and a 2-yr Judaic Studies Master’s Program.

Electives

~ The Enneagram as Part of Your Spiritual Path – 6 months
(Must be an Ordained Minister to take this Elective)

~ Courageous Conversations for Ministers – 4 months

~  Introduction to Sacred Psychology, Foundations of Spiritual Counseling –
(3) – 90 minute classes via Zoom

In addition, AFSI is also offering an opportunity for you to take:
A Course in Miracles 365-day E-Course, “Workin’ the Workbook”
with Rev. Amy Torres, ACIM teacher and accomplished author. 
This is for both the novice and experienced student of ACIM.
You can take it by itself in the comfort of your own home or in conjunction with any of the above programs. You can also subscribe at any time!
And best of all – You don’t have to be a student!
It is a wonderful opportunity to experience:
learning to forgive — the key to happiness; healing your special relationships;
accepting your God-given inheritance of love, peace and joy;
developing a relationship with your Internal Teacher (the Holy Spirit);
undoing sin, guilt and fear; using time in the only way it will truly benefit you;
 awakening to your life purpose

 Please contact Fran Cosentino, Bursar/Registrar at infoallfaithsseminary.org@gmail.com
or call 212-866-3795 for subscription link and pricing.

All Faiths Seminary International Was Founded by Rabbi Joseph Gelberman in 1999

AFSI was created in 1999 by Rabbi Joseph Gelberman, a first-generation Hungarian immigrant who came to the United States during World War II planning to rescue his family from the Nazis, only to have them tragically slaughtered by that infamous regime before they could book safe passage and join him here. What the Rabbi accomplished was to go beyond the normal human reactions of hatred, grief, and fear, rising above them to recognize the common humanity of Spirit, and the Joy in the hearts of all humankind. Having conquered his own darkness, he went on to form not only a new synagogue, but to join forces with religious leaders of divergent faiths, beliefs, traditions, and approaches, and to establish the first Interfaith seminary back in the 1970s. Bringing together open-minded and open-hearted students, themselves from a variety of backgrounds, he established the course of study that has continued his legacy since his death at age 98 on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year in 2010. AFSI provides one-year program that includes self-reflection, reading and writing, as well as visits to holy places of worship, and both lectures from and interviews with clergy and leaders from the wide spectrum of religious and spiritual traditions that comprise today’s multi-ethnic cultural landscape. Practices are tried and understood by students; questions are asked and discussed, students present sermons and write theses on their areas of greatest interest and, after a year of in-depth reflection and study, students are ordained as Interfaith Ministers, each going in the direction most strongly called by his or her own inner heart. Thanks to electronic media, students from across the continent have participated in the NY-based classes, corresponding by video, audio, e-mail and online groups, with the semester culminating in a final retreat in which all gather and get to know one another as an intimate community, sharing in presentations of their work for three days, before finally being ordained on the fourth day.

For more information:

1 Yr & 2 Yr Programs Leading to Becoming an Interfaith Minister

These programs: 1 year Interfaith Ministers, 1-year Interfaith Ministers Program with ACIM Concentration, 1-year Interfaith Ministers program with Judaic Concentration, and 2 year Interfaith Ministers program with Spiritual Counseling Concentration all focus upon the skills and knowledge needed to be a modern interfaith minister. By eliminating semester breaks and vacations, the course(s) are equipped to concentrate in one or two years a solid, qualifying course in interfaith. Upon successful completion of the program chosen, students are ordained as ministers and are eligible to register legally as clergy. The accelerated minister program is administered as a series of monthly weekend classroom sessions at the Seminary’s office in New York City. All students at the end of the course will be expected to attend a three-day retreat where among other activities, they will be given an oral exam based on the year’s studies. A thesis is also required. Ordination normally follows the day after retreat.

Learn More

2- Yr Master’s of Divinity Program

(Must have a Bachelor Degree in order to take these accredited programs) 

We now have 3 Master’s of Divinity Programs:  Regular Master of Divinity, ACIM Master of Divinity, or Judaic Studies Master’s of Divinity. The Master’s of Divinity Program(s) is open to all clergy who have been ordination through All Faiths or another seminary and are the holders of a Bachelor’s Degree. The Program is conducted in cooperation with Commonwealth Open University (COU), an internationally respected educational institution. COU is accredited by the Wiener School for Advanced Studies (WSAS) ISO 9001, and is also an organizational member of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA).

Learn More

2-Yr Doctorate in Divinity Program

The Doctor of Divinity program is conducted in cooperation with Commonwealth Open University (COU), an internationally educational institution. COU is accredited by the Wiener School for Advanced Studies (WSAS) ISO 9001, and is also an organizational member of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). COU awards Doctorate degrees jointly with the Seminary. We believe our Doctorate program can be accomplished with dedication and joy over a one-year period, but extensions are openly available in order to complete the dissertation.

To have reached the doctoral level, you must have:

  1. Completed the All Faiths Seminary program or a similar program from a like-minded institution.
  2. Completed either the Master’s program of All Faith’s seminary or you must hold a Master’s degree in ministry or a like-minded program such as an MSW, a masters in religion, mental health, psychology, etc. A Master’s, in say, engineering or mathematics would not qualify.
Learn More

Correspondence Students Welcome!

Our Correspondence Courses are done via YouTube & Live Streaming. They are for those students who live in states other than the tri-state, New York area and wish to take one of our programs listed above. Classroom content and assistance (if needed) is the same as in-class participation.

Kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.

- Kahlil Gibran

Please Click Here For Excerpts of Various Sermons Written
by the 2017 Graduates of AFSI

 

Please Note:  “The opinions or views mentioned by the speaker(s) in any video contained within this website do not necessarily represent those of the faculty and/or Board of AFSI which does not support, endorse, or promote any political agenda, cause, or ideology.”