Students marry friends and family through ULC monastery

Do you have a friend or family member getting married soon? Do you want to be the one that marries them?

The Universal Life Church Monastery, the largest federation of ULC ministries, would like the students of the University of Houston to know that they have the option of officiating the wedding of their loved ones.

Regardless of religion, the ULC Monastery offers a free online ordination for people all over the world through their website. Those ordained through the ULC can also perform baptisms and funerals.

“The best aspect of the ULC Monastery ordination for college students is that it allows them to perform informal, fun and inexpensive weddings for their friends and family,” said Andy Fulton of the Monastery.

At least 15 of the Monastery’s ministers are from the University of Houston.

“The ULC Monastery makes it possible for any given college student to become a minister to officiate the wedding of their best friend, roommate, etc.”

Francisco Ramos, physics senior and practicing Catholic, is one of the students who chose to be ordained by the ULC Monastery. He found the organization to be “pleasant, welcoming.”

“The decision was made because I had some classmates who were going to be married, and I was asked if I would be the minister for their wedding,” Ramos said. “I gladly accepted the honor.”

The ordination is a free process, but some states or countries might require wedding officiates to have authorization and to prove that they are legally allowed to perform the wedding.

The Monastery offers the credentials to their ministers through their website, said Fulton.

The ULC Monastery also offers a social network for their ministers to interact with each other and share experiences, as well as a blog and a forum, which are used to discuss all types of issues of political, social and religious natures, said Fulton.

“Because our online ordination registration process is free, there really isn’t any point in not visiting (our website) to become an ordained minister online,” Fulton said.

Interested future ministers should visit www.themonastery.org for more information.