i got ordained today. two of my friends, the author and photographer of this book, are getting married next fall. they asked me to perform the ceremony. i was quite flattered to be asked.
when they asked i didn't have the power to make anyone married. but now, thanks to the universal life church i can. in fact, my first task after my friends asked me to perform the ceremony was to figure out if the state of delaware allows people who get ordained in online churches to legally perform a marriage ceremony
it's not crystal clear. the delaware code permits the clergyperson or minister of "any recognized religion" to perform a valid wedding ceremony in the state. the term "recognized religion" is not defined and there don't seem to be any cases interpreting that provision of the law.
i called "clerk of the peace" of various delaware counties to find out how they defined the term. the clerk of the peace is the agency that issues marriage licenses in delaware. none of them have a list of recognized or non-recognized religions. no one wants to get into the sticky business of deciding which religions are real and which ones aren't. so, for all practical purposes, anything that says it is a religion is a "recognized religion." all of the clerks i spoke to mentioned that they had issued licenses for ceremonies where people ordained online had presided. nevertheless, no one i spoke to would give me anything in writing assuring me that online ordination would work.
but that was enough to satisfy my friends. so this morning, i clicked my way to ordination and printed out my universal life church credentials of ministry. you can all call me reverend noz now. or, if you prefer, "the rev."
and i guess this is as good time as any to tell all of you to buy the bride and groom's book. the bride was also used as the model for a character in this month's issue of mad magazine (issue number 462). buy that too for good measure.
