I Clicked, "Yes"! Getting Ordained

 In the Fall of 2014 my long time friend Jennifer asked me to officiate her upcoming wedding in July of this year, 2015. I said, "I Do". But now what???  I didn't know the first thing about getting certified to perform a wedding ceremony. I had heard of people going online or getting certified for one day to do one wedding. Jennifer told me I would have to become an "Ordained Minister". That sounded like some heavy stuff to me because I'm not religious. But marriage is a religious act. So knowing what I do know about religion and politics I knew there would be a loophole :)

I immediately headed to the internet to start my searching: How to get ordained? Is it legal? Job duties of an officiant? I even started searching the county probate court website for information. It's all a little overwhelming. I saw many, many sites that would ordain me online. Some for free, some for money one time, some for a yearly membership. It all sounded hoax-y to me so I called my local probate court. The conversation went something like this.

Me: "Hi, a friend of mine has asked me to officiate her wedding what do I need to do?" 
Clerk: "Are you an ordained Minister?"
Me: "No". 
Clerk: "Then you can go online and get ordained, you can Google it."
Me: "Uh, okay, thanks." 

I first started searching why online ordination is legal. I still was in disbelief that it was that easy. In our state you have to be a Judge, Notary public, or a Minister to perform a wedding ceremony. Here are some things I found out online and by asking the probate court at later time:

1. Ordination online is legit and legal. It should be free. Anyone that charges money is trying to make money. But the free sites will charge you reasonable amount for a copy of your credentials. You are ordained for life until you renounce your title. It's a serious thing too. You can open a church! How crazy is that. Plus you become a searchable, public record. So don't lie about your contact info or your beliefs because that would falsify your ordination possibly making your ceremony performance illegal.  

2. You will find a lot of sites telling you that online ordination is not legal. No worries! People get mad for whatever reason and try to discourage. These people are usually the hard core religious ones that believe no one other than a man/women of God can perform a ceremony. Which brings me to my earlier loophole comment...

3. Declaring yourself an ordained minister means you have agreed to the credo and beliefs of the site you have chosen online. If you are religious, by all means, pick a church online that has the same beliefs as you and get ordained. But, I said I wasn't religious. So I would never get on an online church website and agree to a statement that says something along the lines of,"I swear that I believe in God and heterosexual marriage and believe everything the Bible says". That would make my ordination a lie. Plus, that means I'm going on public record as a lie. 

4. It is common to find someone of similar faith to marry you. I'm not speaking for Jennifer's beliefs or those of her beloved.  But what I do believe, they are okay with. And that makes the ceremony  I perform for them real and legal. Loophole....The site I got ordained to only asked me to agree to the following statement:

1. All people, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, have the right to marry.
2. It is the right of every couple to choose who will solemnize their marriage.
3. All people have the right to solemnize marriage.

.  I clicked, "YES". Because I agree with all that. I'm not lying. I did not have to reveal any of my personal views on religion to get ordained. Which in my opinion is how it should be. I was asked to do this and I should be able to. 

5. With my ordination I am legal to perform Wedding Ceremonies, Funerals, and Baptisms. 

6. I chose a well known site for ordination that had marriage in the title because that was my main focus. I didn't want the word church involved because I didn't want to confuse anybody. On the license I will write, "Non-Denominational" for the type of ceremony performed. If you do a wedding of a particular religion you would put that religion down. My title is "Ordained Minister". I will be referring to myself as the wedding officiant. Which is acceptable. 

7. The most important thing is the license. But that is done before a ceremony ever happens. So really ceremonies are personal thing and anyone should be able to do it. Because all the real legal stuff has already been done. Laws and procedures vary from state to state and county to county. Always call the county that the ceremony will take place and will be filed to know their requirements.

8. The most well known ordination site is Universal Life Church. The ordain all religions and beliefs. Celebrities use this site a lot. You will find 1-3 states/counties that will not take ordination from them for whatever reason. But they are still legit. 

9. I used a newer online organization called American Marriage Ministries. I quote their site:  
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

 https://theamm.org

 

Now, I can move on to the fun part....figuring out how to perform a ceremony.