ULC Minister Kathy Griffin Weds Couple

In a decidedly unconventional ceremony, actor and comedian Kathy Griffin used her recent ordination through the ULC Monastery to officiate the marriage between her friends Brian Anstey and Elka Shapiro.

The Houston Chronicle has the story here.

Griffin, an infamous provocateur, often finds herself the target of protests by conservative religious groups for her jokes about Jesus.

Griffin was able to perform in her function as minister in New York in spite of the city's cumbersome registration process, thanks to paperwork provided by the ULC.

The ceremony was a light-hearted affair. At one point the bride was asked to recite the reception menu. The wedding was filmed and will appear in a forthcoming episode of Griffin's reality show, "My Life on the D-List".

"I might be hurting the cause I was trying to help."

The Enquirer ran the story:

Sam Lapin, who teaches communications mostly at the university's Grant County campus and says he is a minister through the Internet-based Universal Life Church, withdrew from the Feb. 19 event at NKU organized by Common Ground, a group for gay and lesbian students.

Lapin might have been breaking the law if he had performed a ceremony labeled "official" by the Common Ground invitation. Kentucky voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2004 banning same-sex marriages, and state law says that any minister who performs an official wedding knowing that it would not be recognized could be charged with a misdemeanor.

The irony is quite saddening: that a well-meaning minister could damage his or her cause by performing the act they are fighting for.