I am a minister in the Universal Life Church (hereafter abbreviated ULC.)
Many of my friends are too. It’s a very liberal church, with one major tenet: Everyone should do that which is right. The church makes no attempt to say what is right and what is not; simply that whatever is right, everyone should do it.
Anyone may be ordained in the ULC, simply by requesting it. Any minister may ordain anyone they choose as another minister, and ordinations are available by mail-order and on the Internet. Many people feel that this makes the ULC less of a church, and that its members are simply trying to capitalize on the benefits bestowed upon the clergy. That is not why I am a member, and I wish to make a record of what my membership and ordination mean to me.
I don’t believe that being a minister is about the title, the material benefits, or even God or religion. Indeed, my atheistic nature prohibits such a view. I do believe that a minister should be one who represents what is good in the human race. I believe that a minister’s duties should be to promote goodness in the world, and to spread kindness, goodwill, happiness, and new ideas to everyone within their reach. In short, I believe that a minister’s job should be to *ad*minister good to anyone and everyone who is willing to receive it.
Being a minister is a reminder to me that I can be a positive force in the world. I do not think of myself as a religious or holy man, or as someone who is in any other way inherently better than others. I think of myself as just a man who wishes to improve the lives of others, as well as his own.
I don’t always live up to this. To be honest, I rarely personify the good of the human race. But by remembering my status as a minister, I believe I can improve myself and come closer and closer to being the person I want to be.
Each of us has the potential to positively affect every life we come in contact with. It costs nothing to be kind. But in my opinion, a genuine home-made minister counts for just as much as one who was trained by a religious institution. What counts is the willingness and ability to bring good into the lives of others. May this thought remain in my mind ’til the day I die.