NOTICE
Is it faith, or faking it?
by Carolyn Tharp
If you ever need to preside over a wedding or baptism, here's the solution to that little problem of becoming a minister.
Phillip Wrigley, Lawrence sophomore, didn't plan on becoming a minister. In fact, he's studying history. But when his friend told him he could become an official, ordained minister just by clicking a button, Wrigley decided to sign up. He became ordained at 15, when he
and his friend thought it would be a funny thing to do.
Nowadays, all you have to do to become a minister is apply over the internet. In "just three minutes" the Universal Life Church ordains anyone who has Internet access and wants to be a minister. The non-denominational, interfaith church accepts requests for ordination on its Web site, www.uclc.org.
However, ULC does not actually process ordinations online, says Andre Hensley, a minister with the ULC headquarters. The Web site simply takes requests and the actual ordinations are processed at ULC's headquarters in Modesto, Calif, he says.
Hensley's parents founded the church in 1959.Since then, it has ordained more than 18 million ministers in more than 80 countries.
The only requirements to become a ULC minister are a valid name and address and a background check to see if the applicant has been ordained before.
The lax prerequisites baffle other religious leaders. A
Catholic priest, for example, must have years of educational experience, including a masters degree in divinity. Father John Schmeidler, a priest at St. John the Evangelical Church, 1234 Kentucky St., says he had to complete 210 hours of graduate-level work,
Seeking religious leadership from someone ordained on ULC "would be like going to a doctor or a psychiatrist who got a degree over the Internet," Schmeidler says.
GENERAL MINISTRY BESTSELLERS
A minister has to know about the heart and soul, which takes training and experience, he says. It certainly takes longer than three minutes.
Once ordained, ULC ministers can perform weddings, funerals, baptisms, house blessings and absolve sins. Wrigley hasn't used his ordination in any formal fashion, he says, unless you count the time he blessed water and poured it on a friend.
1. Ordination credential certificate,
$4.95
been ordained through UCL for about five years. He has absolved people's sins and was the chaplain of his Boy Scout troop, where he led religious services on campouts. He also tried to baptize himself, but didn't know what he was doing, he says. However, Billings thinks
2. Plastic (credit card style) ULC wallet credential, $12
3. ULC pin, $4
Nathan Billings, Lawrence freshman, has
4. Church license plate cover, $5
5. Anointing oil, 1/4- ounce, $7.99
6. Sanctified Mountain Spring Holy Water, $6.95
7. Donation to the ULC Monastery, various amounts
8. Monastery membership certificate, $35
9. Incorporation package user's guide, $19.95
10. Journey to Religious Freedom, by brother Daniel Zimmerman, $29 Source: Universal Life Church, www.uIg.org
ULC's open-door approach to ordination is a good idea.
"I don't think there's any learning you need to do to express your spirituality." Billings says. "You don't have to be taught how to do that."
ULC does offer courses for those willing to take them. Billings said he didn't want to spend the money on training.
But there's tremendous value in the education, says Peter Luckey,senior pastor at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St. Just being able to perform a ceremony doesn't make you a good minister.
It's not very hard to stand up in front of two people and say, 'I now pronounce you man and wife,' he says.
What a minister needs, Luckey says, is a community or church to discern whether a person really has the gift of ministry. Ministers need a community to hold them accountable and say whether they're doing a good job, he says.
ULC accepts those who have received a calling to become a minister and ordains them, Hensley says. But only God can truly ordain a person, he adds.
ULC gives everyone a chance
to voice his or her beliefs, Hensley says. Each person has the right to interpret what is right for him or herself, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others, he says.
on the lights or otherwise, ULC can't verify the motivation for the 6,000-7,000 ordinations it grants each month. But even if only half of those requests are serious, that's still 3,500 ministers a month who are serious about the ministry, Hensley says.
ULC's Web site offers more than just ordination. Feeling really bad about something you did and want make it better? Click on "Instant Absolution of Sin," and you're forgiven. You can also buy one of the church's popular Ministry-In-a-Box kits — which contain books, materials, ceremonies and training to get new ministers started — for $139. The kit includes a manual, a"personalized high-quality certificate of ordination (suitable for framing)" and other certificates for ceremonies.
Receive A Religious Title
$10.00
*lastic (Credit Card) style
ULC Wallet Credential
$12.00
Dr. of Divinity, D.D.
$35.00
Dr. of Metanuphysics
Ordination Package
$24.99
Fancy Floral Certificate
$4.00
A Wedding Ceremony To Remember
$17.95
KIT LEFFLER 03.02.2006 JAYPLAY <09