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Santa Muerte Ministries makes no judgement on whether or not a minister of Santa Muerte can or should charge fees or accept donations. As long as fees / donations are accepted in accordance with their local laws, it is the decision of each individual minister how they choose to handle fees / donations.
Before condemning a minister of Santa Muerte for charging fees or soliciting for donations, you should keep in mind that the word "minister" is not a synonym for the word "volunteer". Also keep in mind the various costs that ministers often incur as a result of wanting to serve their communities. Altar offerings are not free. Gasoline is not free. An hour that a Minister spends in service to the community is an hour they must spend away from their own loved ones, or an hour of traditional work they must forfeit. Personally, I wish we lived in a world where food, and clean drinking water, and clothes, and electricity, and healthcare was free for all, but we don't. The day these basic necessities are free for all is the day I will reverse my stance on this issue. Until then, I will support the decision of each individual minister of Santa Muerte to charge or not charge, to accept donations or not accept donations.
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If you have already become, or are thinking of becoming, a Minister of Santa Muerte, you may be wondering how much time you should dedicate to your ministerial project. One of the pillars on which Santa Muerte Ministries stands is ministerial independence. This organization does not elevate members of the public to the title of Minister, we simply record the wishes of the folk - at least three people - who believe that a fellow devotee deserves the title. Likewise, apart from a very short "Code of Ethics" which we ask ministers to adhere to, this organization does not establish rules about what is or is not a worthy ministerial project. It is up to the folk to deem a project worthy or not worthy of their support. In this same vein, Santa Muerte Ministries does not dictate how Ministers of Santa Muerte run their ministries, including how much time those ministers dedicate to service.
This being said, it is entirely up to Ministers themselves how much time they dedicate to their desired ministry. It could be a part time endeavor or a full time calling. It could be a few minutes a week, a couple hours a month, or a few days a year. The schedule is not what matters. What matters above all is service to others in the name of Santa Muerte. If you have an idea for a Santa Muerte ministry you would like to start, but you're afraid that you may not have the time necessary to dedicate to such a project, I encourage you to stop overthinking it. Any amount of work done in the name of Santa Muerte and in service to others, I think, is a net positive for our community and for the world as a whole. At the foundation of Santa Muerte Ministries is one simple idea:
If we recognize Santa Muerte as a folk saint, and if we practice folk magick, and if we recognize our beliefs as part of a larger folk religion or folk tradition, then the authority to ordain Ministers of Santa Muerte should be vested in the folk - that is, in all of us, as members of a shared spiritual community. ------------------------------ If you want to become a Minister of Santa Muerte Ministries, you first need to be nominated by three people willing to identify themselves as devotees of Santa Muerte (as representatives of the folk), and who are also willing to sign your Minister Certificate of Recognition. If you do not know where to find three devotees who would be willing to nominate you for the title of Minister, you can visit the FORUM tab on this website. When you get there, you'll see a forum titled "Minister Nominations". Just enter the forum and introduce yourself to the community. Tell us a bit about yourself and the type of ministry you want to start. If three other members of the community support your mission, they can respond to your post with a nomination to elevate you to Minister. Once you get three people to nominate you, and after you agree to adhere to the Code of Ethics for Ministers of Santa Muerte Ministries, then you will be issued your Minister Certificate of Recognition. For the most luck finding nominations, it is highly recommended that you start your ministerial project before you pursue the title, so potential supporters know exactly what they are supporting. Your ministry can be any activity that helps people at large or the people of the Santa Muerte community. Your ministry does not have to be voluntary, and Ministers are free to ask for whatever compensation they think is fair for the services they provide. Santa Muerte Ministries does not nominate individuals for the title of Minister - Santa Muerte Ministries only establishes a nomination process, records the nomination, and issues Certificates of Recognition when nomination requirements have been satisfied. Santa Muerte Ministries does not pass judgement on the sincerity of a person's devotion, nor on the viability of a ministerial project. If you are interested in becoming a Minister of Santa Muerte Ministries, please visit the FORUM and click on "Minister Nominations", then start a thread to nominate yourself or someone else. If you need help, or have any questions about the process, use the CONTACT form on this site to send a message. Santa Muerte Ministries is a collective of Santa Muerte devotees dedicated to serving others in the name of Santa Muerte. This is not a church, coven, or classroom. There is no preaching or teaching here. Our sole purpose is to record and make official the will of the Santa Muerte community. When 3 devotees of Santa Muerte (symbolic of the "folk" in this "folk" tradition of ours) agree that a fellow devotee deserves to be elevated to the status of Minister, and if the nominee accepts the title and agrees to uphold the Santa Muerte Ministries Code of Ethics, then Santa Muerte Ministries will issue that person a ministerial Certificate of Recognition. This is the only purpose of Santa Muerte Ministries. If you are interested in learning how to become a Minister of Santa Muerte Ministries, use the Contact form on this website to express your interest and receive further instructions.  Ministers of Santa Muerte Ministries agree:
There are many ways to define the word "folk". A very simple definition that encompasses the way we use the word here at Santa Muerte Ministries is, "of the people," or "by the will of the people."
Santa Muerte, Saint Death, is generally recognized as a folk saint. It was no pope or bishop who bestowed this status, no king or patriarch, rather it was a movement of regular people, just like you and me, who decided it should be so, and made it so. It is on that same bedrock of popular sanctification that the foundations of this ministry are built. This little group of ours exists for one purpose, and that is to bring together devotees of Santa Muerte in order to confer upon other devotees the title of "Minister". For all intents and purposes, Ministers of Santa Muerte Ministries are "Folk Ministers", that is, ministers granted their title "by the will of the people". Those who are granted the title of Minister should take pride in the fact that they are recognized by their peers, by their fellow Santa Muerte devotees, to carry the responsibilities that the title requires. |
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