100th Post!

Has it been 100 already? It sure has!

This post is the 100th to our blog, and with it we would like to thank all of you readers and ministers for your time. Since July 2007, we've brought you the latest from the ULC Monastery, the biggest stories in religious news, and of course the occasional humorous anecdote. As we continue to bring you more stories we hope you continue to keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for the Monastery Blog, please leave us a comment!

We Are All Children of the Same Universe!

Metropolitan Kirill Elected as Patriarch of Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church elected a new Patriarch after a long day of formal deliberation on Tuesday. Metropolitan Kirill was chosen to succeed the recently deceased Alexy II.

"He is a true successor of Alexy [II]'s work. Once again he will help consolidate and unite our society," said Metropolitan Feofan, a church leader in southern Russia. "There is joy in my heart."

(Associated Press)

Kirill has been involved in public relations for the Orthodox Church for over 20 years and was confirmed by a strong voting majority. With his diplomatic background and reputation as a moderate, it is expected that Kirill will continue to work to mend the rift between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.

This marks the first election of a new Patriarch under Russia’s democratic government.

New Revelations from Ted Haggard's New Life Church

In 2006 Pastor Ted Haggard was fired from the church he founded over allegations that he had been sexually involved with a male prostitute. Now a new chapter to the story has surfaced. A young male ex-church member, who was in a relationship with Haggard in 2006, recently contacted the representatives of Haggard's New Life Church and threatened to disclose his story to the public.

The unidentified individual, who has been receiving settlement payments for counseling and college tuition, is allegedly upset with the sympathetic portrayal of Haggard in an upcoming HBO documentary.

In response, Senior Pastor of the New Life Church Brady Boyd made the decision to release anonymous details of the legal settlement. Since Haggard was fired in 2006, the New Life Church has been making insurance payments as a result of legal settlements. Boyd claimed that the Church's actions were in no way an attempt to mislead anyone.

“We weren’t hiding him — we were trying to do the honorable thing,” Mr. Boyd said in the interview. He described the legal agreement in 2007 as, “not so a much a settlement as it was compassionate assistance — we were trying to help the young man by being discreet.”

(NYT)

Since the height of the scandal in 2006, the New Life Church's membership has shrunk from over 12,000 to about 10,500.


- New York Times

Pope Benedict Controversially Revokes Excommunications

Over the weekend, Pope Benedict announced his decision to revoke the excommunication of four bishops. Bishop Richard Williamson, along with the three other bishops in question, were excommunicated in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

Williamson and three other bishops were excommunicated 20 years ago after they were consecrated by the late ultraconservative Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre without papal consent — a move the Vatican said at the time was an act of schism.

(AP)

Pope Benedict cited theological justification for his reconciliation efforts, yet days later anger over the announcement still resonates. Bishop Williamson has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, going so far as to speak about the subject on Swedish television. In an effort to remedy the controversy, Pope Benedict has since decried all forms of antisemitism, insisting that all Catholics do the same.

[This] was just the latest example of how the pope is increasingly focused on internal doctrinal issues and seemingly unaware of how they might resonate in the larger world.

(NYT)

Pope Benedict has already made many controversial announcements during his four years of church leadership. In 2006 he publicly cited an anti-Muslim scholar, angering many in the Islamic community.

Only time will tell if the circulating rumors are true: that Pope Benedict's acts of reconciliation will inevitably lead to further schisms in the Catholic Church.


- Associated Press
- New York Times

Lifelong Minister Offers Free Marriages for Military Couples

Reverend Paul Pierce of New Carlisle, Ohio, a minister with the Universal Life Church since 1969, has now offered to perform free marriages for members of the Armed Forces. As an active minister for many years, Rev. Pierce has performed weddings and funerals for members of his local community.

In September he married a young couple free of charge in the modest storefront office he and his business partner, Ron Hoover, maintain. The young groom was on leave and set to return to duty in Iraq on Jan. 18.

(Springfield News-Sun)

Our thanks for your generosity Rev. Pierce.


If you wish to get involved in a similar way, you can get ordained here.

Message of Religious Diversity Spoken Loudly at Capitol

From President Obama's inaugural address:

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers."

Amen, Mr. President, but we like to say... "We are all children of the same universe."


BBC

Gay Bishop to Deliver Invocation at Sunday's Inauguration Event

Bishop Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Church has been called upon to deliver the Invocation to Sunday's inaugural kick off event, the precursor to Tuesday's presidential inauguration.

In 2003 the Episcopal Church made history when Bishop Robinson was consecrated as the Church's first openly gay bishop.

Last month, Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren was chosen to give the invocation to Tuesday's inauguration; a choice that angered a large number of Obama's supporters.

In a telephone interview [with the New York Times] on Monday, Bishop Robinson said that he believed his inclusion in inaugural events had been under consideration before the controversy erupted over Mr. Warren but that Mr. Obama and his team were also seeking to heal the pain that Mr. Warren’s selection had caused among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates.

(NYT)

When Bishop Robinson was asked to comment on the prayer that he will give, he replied,

this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer.”

(NYT)

We applaud Bishop Robinson's inclusive reaction and look forward to what he has to say.


- New York Times

Look Out Las Vegas

In an effort to encourage tourism, New York City has just opened their freshly remodeled Manhattan Marriage Bureau. Couples interested in a civil marriage, can now obtain their license with some additional fanfare the government building.

with revenues tight and tourist dollars desperately needed, the Bloomberg administration has created a 24,000-square-foot wedding palace, in the hope of increasing the number of couples who marry at the city clerk’s office.

(NYT)

If you like the idea of a Manhattan wedding but don't want to have the ceremony in the city's Marriage Bureau, just call on your local ULC minister. We can provide all of the documentation necessary to register a marriage officiant in New York City.


- New York Times

Opinion of the Buck's County Judge

This is the case that met its conclusion last weeks has been string up headlines the last few days. In Buck's County, Pensylvania, a civil court Judge affirmed the right of Universal Life Church ministers to officiate weddings.

Please visit our database of Universal Life Church court decisions to view the Judge's opinion: http://www.ulccaselaw.com


(Direct link to document)

ULC Monastery Wins Decisive Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Judge C Theodore Fritsch Jr. has upheld the right of ministers ordained by the Universal Life Church to officiate weddings. This ruling affirmed the marriage of Jennifer and Jason O'Neil, officiated in 2005 by Jason's uncle Robert A. Norman, a member of the ULC Monastery.

Fritsch's ruling is binding only in Bucks County, although the ACLU has won similar victories in recent months in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

"We agree with Judge Fritsch that as long as a religious organization operates under a widely recognized system of beliefs, as the ULC clearly does, the law does not permit the courts to tell that organization who it can and cannot allow to be a minister," said lawyer Joshua M. Kaplowitz, who represented the O'Neills, both 29, on behalf of the ACLU.

(ES)

This ruling sets a new prescient within Pennsylvania law, and we commend our legal defense team at Davis Wright Tremaine for working in conjunction with the ACLU to bring equality to Pennsylvania marriage law.

"Without a doubt, this was a genuine concern for us," [Jason O'Neil] said. "We knew there were many areas in which a negative ruling could come back to bite us. We had tax, health insurance and other legal issues, so this is a relief. I hope other couples will see the ruling and feel comforted."

(PI)

Thank you Jennifer and Jason, for the courage you have shown to the State of Pennsylvania on behalf of Universal Life Church ministers around the world. This victory would not have been possible without you.


- The Evening Sun
- Philadelphia Inquirer