An article in today’s “Sunday Styles” calls into question the validity of marriages performed by clergy with no sustained following. That is, the men and women who receive their credentials from The Universal Life Church in Modesto, California.
The organization ordains 10,000 people a month, twice as many as in 2000, according to Andre Hensley, the church’s president. Eighty percent join the fold solely to perform weddings, he said.
According to the report, four states with tight asses, fail to recognize marriages that were performed by mail order ministers. The states are CT, TN, AL and VA.
Even if you live in a state that does recognize such unions, the Gray Lady won’t.
The New York Times has a policy of publishing articles only about weddings in which it can confirm that the officiant is legally empowered to perform the ceremony.
Another interesting fact from the article: 39 states, including Connecticut, do not recognize common-law marriage.
[ABOUT THE ARCANE HEADLINE] Jason Strider is a character in a novel who marries his friends from Cornell thanks to the power vested in him by the world wide web.
