Have Questions?

We're here to help you begin your ordination journey and find your place in our community.

Here are 10 frequently asked questions for Golden Flower Abbey:



1. Do I have to follow any specific religion to join or be ordained?

Absolutely not. Golden Flower Abbey is radically inclusive. Our community is built on the conviction that every spiritual path has dignity and deserves respect. Whether you come from a Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Agnostic, or any other background or no background at all, you are welcome exactly as you are.

2. How do I get ordained as a minister, and does it cost anything?

Ordination through Golden Flower Abbey is free, fully online, and open to everyone. If you feel called to serve, minister, or officiate ceremonies, we welcome you into that role without barriers.

3. Can my ordained minister status allow me to legally perform weddings?

Yes. Upon ordination, the Abbey provides guidance and instruction on how to legally officiate weddings in your state or jurisdiction. We walk you through the ceremony structure and the requirements you need.

5. What does "Christian Zen with Pure Land Buddhism" actually mean aren't those contradictory?

Not at all. Christian Zen and Pure Land Buddhism share a beautiful common ground: both honor a complementary form of spiritual practice, and both point toward something vast, loving, and luminous beyond the limited ego.

6. Does the Abbey teach meditation, and what styles are offered?

Yes. Meditation instruction is central to our community. We offer guidance in Zen sitting (zazen), Pure Land chanting and nembutsu practice, Christian contemplative prayer, breathwork, and mindfulness-based approaches.

7. What herbalism and naturopathy resources does the Abbey offer?

The Abbey recognizes the deep, ancient relationship between plant medicine and spiritual wellbeing. We provide access to herbalism education, naturopathic principles, and resources connecting traditional healing wisdom and a holistic understanding of body, mind and spirit.

4. What is the Abbey's position on cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, and other sacred plant medicines?

Golden Flower Abbey holds a sincere religious conviction that sacred plants and entheogens including cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms are gifts from the Creator, embedded in the natural world as vehicles for healing, revelation, and communion with the divine. This conviction is protected under the First Amendment as a matter of genuine religious belief and falls within the sacred relationship between an individual and God.

8. Is there a physical location I need to visit, or is everything available online?

Everything the Abbey offers; ordination, instruction, community, ceremony guidance, and resources is available online. We understand that sacred community can form across digital networks and continental distances just as authentically as it does in a physical building. Wherever you are, you are able to learn and belong.

9. Is there a hierarchy within the Abbey?

Golden Flower Abbey is deliberately and consciously non-hierarchical. There are no gatekeepers, and no institutional structures that place one person's voice above another's. Every member stands on the same ground. This a commitment rooted in our belief in the inherent dignity of every person.

10. How does the Abbey balance openness to all beliefs with having its own spiritual identity?

The Abbey's own identity rests on two simple principles: the Golden Rule, and the freedom of every person to practice their faith without interference. Our shared ground isn't a creed but a recognition: that love is not merely an emotion but the very foundation of existence.