The Universal Life Church Monastery (ULCM) is a multi-religious interfaith ministry that has an online

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

program, which allows individuals to preside over weddings, baptisms, and funerals in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

depending on state and county laws. George Freeman is president of the

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

–based ministry. It claims to have ordained 20 million ministers.

History

The Universal Life Church Monastery was founded in 1977 as an offshoot of the

Universal Life Church The Universal Life Church (ULC) is an American non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley,James R. Lewis, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions' (2001), p. 769-70.U.S. Department of the Army, ' ...

. The church first established a website that allowed individuals to apply for ordination in 1995. Universal Life Church Monastery formally split from the

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

-based Universal Life Church in 2006 following financial and legal disputes between the two bodies. Universal Life Church Monastery then began ordaining ministers through its own website.

Beliefs

Universal Life Church Monastery's

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

is "We are all children of the same universe." It also has two core tenets: *Do only that which is right. *Every individual is free to practice their religion in the manner of their choosing, as mandated by the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, so long as that expression does not impinge upon the rights or freedoms of others and is in accordance with the government's laws. The monastery's stated mission is to ordain anyone regardless of their spiritual or religious denomination. , the church had stated that it is almost finished renovating a physical building to serve as a house of worship, and conducts ordination through its website. According to the church, ordination allows its ministers to perform marriages, funerals, baptisms, and exorcisms. It provides ordination services free of charge.

References

External links

Official website

Universal Life Church (ran by ULCM)
- Not to be confused with

.
Universal Life Church Legal Case Law
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Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

1977 establishments in Washington (state)

History

Beliefs

See also

References

External links