Refuge ceremony
Talis
Explorer
Finaly going for refuge on the 5th at Samye Ling & can't wait 
This is their Face ache post today with details if anyone else wishes to do it.
Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Buddhist Centre
On the morning of Sunday the 5th of April, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche will conduct a Refuge ceremony for anyone who wishes to become a Buddhist. Please email lhamo@samyeling.org if you wish to take part or require further details. If you intend to stay overnight then please book accommodation through our website. If you do not plan to stay overnight but wish to have lunch in our dining room then please email the kitchen to let them know - kitchen@samyeling.org
https://www.facebook.com/kagyusamyeling?fref=photo
(http://newbuddhist.com/uploads/editor/4p/w20m7avyidmz.jpg "")
Peace
Talis 
Comments
I would take a pedantic if mild issue with this line:
A Refuge Ceremony doesn't make you a Buddhist, any more than attending a Church service makes you a Christian, or owning a car makes you a mechanic.
you become a Buddhist as and when you feel you are Buddhist, and no amount of ceremonial pomp and circumstance can make that deeper or otherwise.
I would say "Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche will conduct a Refuge ceremony for anyone who wishes to affirm their Buddhist dedication in a ceremonial atmosphere".
But like I said, maybe I'm just being a pedant.... Or maybe Lama Yeshe and his Tradition are of the opinion that without this Refuge Ceremony, you cannot possibly be Buddhist?
I'm sure it will be a wondrous event and very beautiful for all participating, in any case.
Talis, congrats, I am very pleased for you. I am going to Samye Ling for a weekend course on 16th April but took refuge in February at Samye Dzong in Manchester.
It is a special time and I wish you all the best.
Actually, I agree with Federica on this issue. To feel one must go through such a ceremony is like believing that confirmation makes one a heartfelt Catholic. I asked several Thai monks about it long ago, and they just didn't get the concept. As one said, "If you think like a Buddhist and act like a Buddhist, then you are a Buddhist."
That is not to say that such ceremonies aren't a good thing. I think they can help reaffirm certain emotional/moral commitments.
From my teacher's point of view the refuge isn't merely a vow to do your part. It is also a recognition of the path of awakening that the actual energy of waking up will also meet you in your practice from the side of the outside world. Doors will open. So it is coming from your side but it is also coming from the side of the universe. The refuge is a recognition of the awake quality of the universe is meeting your awake quality. So why a particular ceremony? Well the reason is that this relationship with the universe has to manifest. Just like Buddha manifested as Shakyamuni. For the meeting between the universe and the being there has to be a manifestation and the refuge ceremony is a representation of that awake meeting. I haven't taken refuge but I am not too worried about it because I am making a lot of effort in my practice and I am confident that sooner or later in this lifetime or the next I will take refuge.
In Tantra refuge is very important as @Jeffrey says. You are aligning with, taking protection and taking blessing from the lineage of practitioners. It is a magical connection rather than a conjuring trick or temporary skilful illusion. Ultimately it is dropped BUT it is adopted as very real and empowering ceremony.
You think Tantra is not 'witchcraft' as my teacher used to call it? Perhaps . . .
Just a way of labelling and defining . . .
I quack like a Buddhist, act like a Buddhist but am really more a duck than a Buddhist. Ah well, theory and practice . . .
Good luck with the refuge ceremony. The last time I attended, a small bird flew in to the temple and sat at the head of the queue . . . maybe it was a Buddhist . . .
May all be auspicious
If a ceremony helps someone feel like they are a Buddhist then that ceremony is simply that...... An aid for some to feel they are a Buddhist.
Taking it from there to a suggestion that it's an exclusion of those Buddhists who have not taken this refuge, is a stretch.
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Thank you all for your input and wishes of good luck, I agree it is more of a personal undertaking and is not a necessity. But I will look forward to it, on a positive side note I know it has made a close friend evaluate their path in life, and as such have become a Buddhist, after seeing a change in myself it has facilitated. Right packing to do, and then off to Scotland, best get my wheelchair batteries charged up to is a long way up the road