It's Official: I've Joined The Priesthood

That's right.  I have become an ordained priest in The Church of the Latter Day Dude, otherwise known as Dudeism.

The reason why I am accepting a new religion is simple:  I want to pay it forward.

Four years ago, our friend Lindsay officiated our wedding ceremony.  It was a simple service.  Just Jessi, myself, Lindsay and two witnesses to sign the marriage certificate.  We got married in the kitchen of our three bedroom apartment, followed immediately by a "reception" with chocolate chip ice cream and sparkling cider.  Lindsay became ordained through the Universal Life Church, an online church that allows you to become ordained, immediately, free of charge.  As a minister in the church, she has legally recognized authority to perform marriages in all 50 states in the U.S., and many countries abroad.  We didn't necessarily have the "wedding of our dreams", but, looking back, we wouldn't have had it any other way.

If the circumstances should present themselves, I also wanted to be in a position to officiate a wedding or civil service, especially if it could help someone in my local LGBT community.  However, considering my previous "issues" with religion, I didn't want to become ordained in a church that had a Judeo-Christian philosophy.  I am atheist, after all.

Dudeism was right for me.

Before you ask...Yes, it is a legitimate church.  And it has it's own philosophy.  Dudeism is very similar to Taoism and Zen Buddhism.  It's tenets are simple:  "Live and let live."  Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don’t do anything about it. Just take it easy, man.

I can abide.

And, as a Dudeist, I don't have to know what in God's name other religions are blathering about.  It appears to be a perfect fit.

In case you were wondering, I am serious about this.  My certificate of ordination will arrive in the mail, hand signed, in approximately two weeks.  I want to be able to help someone in the way that Jessi and I were helped four years ago.

So....who wants to be my first marriage?

Kevin Smith Officiates Gay Wedding

Last night's 'Nightline' on ABC had a piece about getting married by a celebrity.  I guess it's the new "in" thing to do if you're getting married in California.  Tori Spelling has been doing it on her reality show for a couple of years, now.  And, in February, you can add writer/director/actor Kevin Smith into the mix.

In February, Smith, an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church, an online church with over 20 million members, married Scott Loudon and Michael Wojtowicz.  Yes, his first official marriage was of a gay couple.  As long time Los Angeles Kings season ticket holders, Loudon and Wojtowicz wanted a hockey themed wedding.  Being the hockey fanatic that he is, Smith couldn't refuse.

Dressed as a referee, he conducted the ceremony as the couple were dressed as players, complete with jerseys and fake bruises.  The 50 or so in attendance at Smiths theater in L.A. all wore jerseys as well, while the proceedings were broadcast online as part of a regularly scheduled podcast.

The invites were even made to look like tickets to a game:

The wedding date was 02/12/2011 - Sec 2011, Row 2, Seat 12

I don't know about you, but speaking for myself, I would much rather be married by Silent Bob than Donna from 'Beverly Hills, 90210'.  As Smith said in the piece last night,

"If you're getting married here, you're really interesting.... If you're getting married in hockey jerseys, and making me wear a referee jersey, and you're gay, and you're here, and you're huge hockey fans, we're in for a great show."

Take a look at the video.  I found it really touching.  It's nice to see Smith's reaction to the whole thing.  It's as if he's just hanging out with a couple of his drinking buddies.  It's no big deal to him.

I have read a couple of comments on the gay websites regarding this story, and I was surprised to see how much of a negative reaction it's getting.  One comment in particular struck me as peculiar.  It went on to say, "Shame on Kevin Smith.  Publicity stunts like this make our fight towards marriage equality look insincere.  Gay marriage is not a joke."

Really?  Are we going to bring the "sanctity of marriage" bullshit argument into this story, now?  News flash:  There is no sanctity in marriage, anymore.  There hasn't been for decades.  When Larry King can be on his 8th (or is it 9th) wife.  Or when you can get married by Elvis at a drive thru window in Las Vegas.  Or when one of the most popular shows on cable is about a man and his four wives, there is no sanctity in marriage.

If straight couples can have Star Wars themed weddings or Lord of the Rings themed weddings, why can't a gay couple have a hockey themed wedding?  What's the harm?  In my mind that IS marriage equality.

Kevin Smith, believe it or not, has been a long time advocate for the LGBT community.  In fact, when no one else would fund or produce a little documentary called 'Small Town Gay Bar', Smith personally funded the project so that it would be completed.  He also distributed it through his production company, View Askew, and secured a spot for it to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.  It is an amazing film that documents the lives of gay and lesbian residents in rural areas in the South, and the steps they have taken to try to form a resemblance of a community.  Over the last three decades, some have had the courage to open gay bars in their local towns, only to be threatened, beaten, and run out by local politicians and church leaders.

On a personal note:  My wife and I were initially planning on having a Beatles themed wedding in Las Vegas.  Due to unforeseen circumstances (our almost 3 year old daughter on the way), we decided to change our wedding plans.  A close friend of ours became ordained as a minister online through the Universal Life Church.  We were married in our kitchen, with only a couple of our closest friends in attendance.  

If I had to do our wedding day all over again, I would still be standing in that little kitchen with my beautiful fiancée, and a champagne flute filled with sparkling grape juice.  I wouldn't change a thing.  It's 2011.  Weddings aren't about pomp and circumstance, or wedding dresses and "something borrowed/something blue" anymore.  Tradition is out the window.  Today, it's simply about two people coming together to make a commitment to love each other for the rest of their lives.  End of story.

Congratulations, Scott and Michael.  May the two of you have a happy and fruitful life together.  Go Kings!!