THURSDAY,APRIL25,2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
Library assistant ordained online
By Maggie Koerth Kansan staff writer
Joe Orosco was a little nervous when he officiated his friends' wedding. Orosco, an assistant at Watson Library, said what bothered him most were his friends' family members, who kept commenting on how young he was to be a minister. At the time he was only 35 years old.
"I didn't have the heart to tell them that all I did was double click," he said.
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Universal Life Church offers ministerial ordination to anyone with a computer and Internet connection. Persons ordained online are able to legally perform weddings, funerals and baptisms under Kansas law.
Orosco received his ministerial credentials online. All he had to do was fill out a form and in less than a minute he was ordained by the Universal Life Church.
The church, which is based out of Modesto, Calif., was founded in 1959. The church has no doctrine other than the admonition to do what is right.
Kalena Hensley, granddaughter of the church's founder Kirby Hensley, said the church had over 20 million registered ministers worldwide.
In order to become ordained, all a person has to do is visit the church's Web site, www.ule.net, fill out a short form and click submit. The church also offers newly ordained ministers a whole selection of documents, official papers and books they can buy online to enhance their ministry.
Hensley said that people got involved in the church for many reasons, but that one of the main reasons was to be able to perform weddings.
Orosco said he got ordained specifically to perform the wedding. He said the marriage process was simple because his friends already had the marriage license. All he had to do was perform the ceremony and sign on the dotted line.
"The law says anyone who is a currently ordained clergyman of any religious denomination or society can perform a wedding," she said.
Cindy Freeman, domestic clerk in the Douglas County district clerk's office, said she often received calls from people wanting to know if their friends could perform their wedding. She said in Kansas it was legal to be married by someone ordained online.
Larissa Rothe, Salina junior, said she got ordained because she thought the concept was interesting and it would help her practice Rieki. a
traditional Japanese form of hands-on healing.
"It's a legal thing," she said. "If you are ordained you can legally touch people."
Online ordination is also useful to members of the Wiccan clergy.
we do get many Wicean and pagan ministers who want to be able to have the same privileges and abilities as a regular minister." Universal Life's Hensley said.
Not everyone takes online ordination seriously.
Hensley said there were a lot of people who viewed the church as a joke, but there was nothing the church could do about that.
"If we notice false names, or if somebody applies several times, we don't ordain them. But we put it in the power of people to have respect for the title and us," she said.
Some churches that have been founded by Universal Life Church ordained ministers are the Michigan-based Happy House Church, which advocates the use of marijuana as a sacrament and the Church of Ju-jitsu Janissaries and
Saturday Saints, an order dedicated to sunbathing, daydreaming and the six-day weekend.
Thad Holcome, pastor of Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave., said online ordination trivialized the position of minister, whether or not the people ordained took it seriously.
"It's a bumper sticker approach to being ordained," he said. "You need to have an academic integrity to your theological education that you don't get online. Getting ordained online is a bad way to go about it even if the desire is honest."
Holcombe said if people wanted to be married by someone other than a traditional minister there were better ways to take care of it than getting ordained online.
"There is always a judge and there are some traditions that do not require ministers at all. Like Quaker and Hindu. Those are some other options," he said.
Contact Koerth at mkoerth@kansan.com. This story was edited by Jeremy Clarkson.
Dinner raises money for AIDS project
By Caroline Boyer
Kansan staff writer
Spaghetti, grape Kool-aid and a chance to contribute to the community brought about 330 students to the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building. 1204 Oread Ave.
The Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association sponsored the fifth annual spaghetti dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. yesterday. All proceeds benefited the Douglas County AIDS Project.
"It's one of the main focuses of our spring philanthropy and a lot of work goes into it," said Jeff Shoger, appointed officer for Interfraternity Council spring philanthropy.
Paye Brody, Henderson, Nev., sophomore and appointed officer for Panhellenic spring philantrophy, said they were hoping to match last year's donation of $1,200.
Ben Kirby, Dallas sophomore and member of the Interfraternity Council, said the final total from last night had not been tabulated, but was at least $1,000.
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Students fill their plates with piles of pasta as Panhellenic Officer Fay Brody, Henderson, Nev., sophomore, left, refills the buffet with freshly cooked noodles. The spaghetti dinner was held last night at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave., to benefit the Douglas County AIDS project.
In 1999, the dinner raised about $3,500. Shoger, Derby junior, said it was not due to a lack of effort that the amount raised had gone down since then.
"I think in years past, people were more willing to donate, and with the way the economy has been, they haven't been as willing" he said. "We did have people calling local businesses asking for donations, but they weren't able to get much."
Walk for Health 2002, a 5K run, which will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in South Park. The organization provides community education and direct services to those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
The dinner also serves as a promotional event for the Douglas County AIDS Project's
For more information about the Walk for
Contact Boyer at cboyer@kansan.com. This story was edited by Andy Gassaway.
Health, contact the Douglas County AIDS Projectat 843-0040.
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