User:Hollykinsella/sandbox

= Dawn Kinsella =

== Priestess of Avalon ==

=== Works at Glastonbury Goddess Temple === Considered to be a permanent place of worship, recognised by Glastonbury community.

=== First Person in England and Wales to perform legal Pagan marriages === Dawn Kinsella is the first officiant authorised to conduct legal Pagan marriages in England and Wales.

Dawn began celebrant training in (date), which she began by shadowing a superindendant registrar for one year. Here she discovered that Pagan ceremonies can be considered legally binding if they occur in a 'permanent place of worship'.

As the Goddess Temple is considered as a permanent place of worship, the process of making Pagan Handfastings legal began.

Legal Pagan Marriages
As the term 'handfasting' only refers to the ceremonial part of the process, the legality depends on specific wording and paperwork.Other requirements set by the General Registrar's Office are; if it occurs in a religious place it must be a permanent place of worship; it must have the proper licensing; the building must undergo inspection; the place must be solemnised and it must be approved by the local community.

This means that, much like Christian ceremonies, marriages must be performed inside the temple to be considered legal.

After learning this Dawn sought the approval of Goddess Temple founder Kathy Jones, acquired 40 signatures from the locals to confirm that the Goddess Temple as a known place of worship within Glastonbury. She also studied details of bureaucratic procedure such as submission of paperwork and sending official forms. Once all this was in place the template for the Goddess Temple ceremony, which contained some vital legal wording, was approved.

Finally Dawn was approved as the person in charge of the bureaucratic and legal elements of the marriages within the Goddess Temple, making her the first person to perform legally binding Pagan marriages in England and Wales.

The first marriage performed in the Goddess Temple was that of Temple founders Kathy Jones and her husband Mike.

Sacred Celebrants Academy
Dawn is also the director and founder of Sacred Celebrants Academy, the first academy to offer an accredited 9 month course teaching Pagan Celebrancy. The course teaches students how to perform ceremonies such as handfastings, baby namings and passing-over. This is taught in an academy of higher learning in Glastonbury.

Awards
Dawn Kinsella won the runner up certificate in the Category 'Influencing the Wider Profession' at the Convention for Civil Celebrants in Kettering in September 2018.