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Welcome to Rites of Passage: Weddings, Funerals, and Ceremonies
Welcome to Rites of Passage: Weddings, Funerals, and Ceremonies.
Sooner or later, almost every minister is asked to stand at the front of the room. A couple wants you to marry them. A family wants you to bury a mother, a father, or a child. Parents want to welcome a new baby, a teenager wants to mark becoming an adult, and a neighborhood wants someone to lead a vigil after a tragedy. These moments are among the most important things a minister does, and people remember them for the rest of their lives.
In this course you will learn why ceremonies matter, how people across many traditions mark birth, coming of age, marriage, and death, and how to design and lead ceremonies for families of every faith and none. You will study the classic theory of rites of passage, the practical wisdom of family therapists, a funeral director, and a preacher, and the mourning traditions of African America. You will also learn the legal duties of an officiant, including how to handle a marriage license correctly.
Throughout the course, you will be asked to write and practice. By the end you will have drafted your own wedding ceremony, a eulogy, and a ceremony of your own design, ready to adapt for the people you serve.
How This Course Works
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite | Five completed 100-level courses. This is a 200-level course. |
| Pace | Self-paced. Most students finish in five to seven weeks, studying about five hours a week. There are no deadlines. |
| Structure | Eight modules. Each module has a lesson, a reading assignment, and a ten-question quiz. |
| Book report | Read one of the books offered, pass its ten-question quiz, and write a one-paragraph summary, after Module 8. |
| Final exam | Fifteen multiple-choice questions and one written project of 1,500 to 2,000 words, taken after Module 8. |
| Credit | 3 credit hours toward further titles and degrees. |
Grading
| Part | To pass |
|---|---|
| Module quizzes (8) | Pass each with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report quiz (10 questions) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report summary (one paragraph) | Approved by the school |
| Final exam, Part 1 (multiple choice) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Final exam, Part 2 (one written project, 1,500 to 2,000 words) | Approved by the school |
Required texts
- The Rites of Passage, Arnold van Gennep (second edition, University of Chicago Press, 2019)
- Rituals for Our Times: Celebrating, Healing, and Changing Our Lives and Our Relationships, Evan Imber-Black and Janine Roberts
- The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care, Thomas G. Long and Thomas Lynch
- Passed On: African American Mourning Stories, Karla FC Holloway
Many of these books are available from public libraries, used bookstores, and as ebooks. Shorter sources assigned in some modules, such as the marriage laws of your state and the officiant rules of your county clerk, are free online.
What you will study
Module 1: Why Ceremonies Matter Module 2: Welcoming a Child Module 3: Coming of Age Module 4: Weddings Across Traditions Module 5: The Officiant’s Craft: Writing and Leading a Wedding Module 6: Death and Mourning Across Traditions Module 7: Leading a Funeral or Memorial Service Module 8: Ceremonies for Every Season of Life
Book report choices
Passed On: African American Mourning Stories, Karla FC Holloway; The Good Funeral, Thomas G. Long and Thomas Lynch
Academic honesty
All written work must be your own. You may quote and discuss the course readings and other sources, but you must say where the words and ideas came from. Submitting work written by someone else, including work generated entirely by AI tools, is not permitted. Ceremonies you write may of course borrow traditional words, such as wedding vows or prayers, as long as you say where they come from.