For you and your partner to be considered “married” in the eyes of the law, you need to go through a few steps. Most importantly, in many states, you need to have the union officiated by a person representing a religious or government body. For many couples, the wedding ceremony itself helps to fill this […]

With same-sex marriages now legal in the States, many LGBTQ couples are looking to officially formalize their union with a wedding celebration. While a visit to the local courthouse may be the quickest and easiest way to get it done, people from all walks of life dream of saying “I do” to their love in […]

A groom should walk a mile in his fiance’s shoes to better understand his bride to be. This week on the hit television show RuPaul’s Drag Race, some couples took that advice literally as grooms slipped in to some high heels and got all dolled up in drag for the big day. Universal Life Church […]

If you’ve ever stepped into a confessional, you know that it can be cathartic and scary at the same time. You’re about to tell a respected Holy man all the not-so-holy things you’ve done recently. This man knows your family, he might have held you as a baby, and he isn’t likely to be thrilled […]

In keeping with its mission of freedom of religion, the Universal Life Church is informing its approximate 22 million ordained ministers and, hence, wedding officiants that they are authorized to either perform or abstain from performing a same-sax marriage in the coming months. Gay rights advocates are celebrating the ratification of legislation by the voting […]

For wedding officiants, fall is often a less busy time of year. However, for those ordained in the Universal Life Church, autumn may be the perfect time to perform a wedding. As the heat of summer gives way to cooler autumn breezes, thoughts of bountiful harvests and holiday haunting fill the air. As leaves change […]

The secretive and mysterious Sun Myung Moon met his end on September 3, 2012, dying in a Seoul, South Korean hospital at the age of 92. For 40 years and more, he beguiled the Western world as a wedding officiant at mass marriage ceremonies, secret trips to North Korea to establish a sunshine policy with […]

Aug. 11, 2012, saw what many global rights activists hope to be a sign of good things to come in the struggle to legalize gay marriage. Huang Mei-yu and her partner You Ya-ting exchanged prayer beads in lieu of rings as they were married in traditional white wedding gowns in a Buddhist monastery in Taoyuan, […]

The Choice To Be Ordained Sharing in the joy of a couple’s wedding day is something that only a few get to experience. As an officiant, you will have the privilege of creating that experience for an engaged couple and their families. Becoming an ordained minister is the first step in being able to bring […]

As a minister ordained online by the Universal Life Church, you need to be aware of the laws governing the jurisdictions in which you will perform rites of the clergy.  While your ordination allows you to preach, baptize, conduct a funeral, christen, and perform a wedding, the latter requires you to complete paperwork.  The state […]