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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 15273
[Pagan]
Date Posted:
4/8/2006
10:14:01 pm EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,680
RSS: 16,689
Comments: 8
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Local Wiccans Ordained For Weddings
Author: Penticton Western Source: Penticton Western
Title: LOCAL WICCANS ORDAINED FOR WEDDINGS
Penticton pagans will soon have a new way to tie the knot — or in their case, the hands.
At a ceremony scheduled to take place in Kelowna on April 15, Mike Zult from Penticton and Diane Morrison from Vernon will be authorized to perform legally binding marriages in the Wiccan tradition.
Zult, also known as Lord Grunnar in Wiccan circles, is a lay high priest in the South Okanagan congregation of the Congregationalist Wiccan Association of British Columbia.
His congregation, as well as the North Okanagan Congregation that serves Vernon and Kelowna, have worked for years to establish a foundation of regular rituals and other Wiccan spiritual services to support local pagans, he said.
That work has now paid off with both groups being raised to full temple status and he and Morrison being ordained as a high priest and priestess with the right to perform legal marriages, he said.
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Community Thoughts: There are 8 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Yes, Congrats.... | Apr 10th. at 12:33:17 am EDT
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Jeff (Prescott Area, Arizona) - Email Me
My wife and I are ordained, but have performed only two weddings in our state - one legal, and one symbolic only (by choice) .
I think it's outstanding that these people have chosen to become ordained and advertise their services publicly - that's a huge step that we haven't taken yet because of our mundane jobs.
Again, kudos to them for taking the leap!
Blessings,
Jeff
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| Connecticut | Apr 9th. at 3:50:59 pm EDT
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Ahr-Ohn (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Email Me
That is a point, that Ceremonialists should not be Agents of State. Nor should Lawyers or other Ministers. Ministry is Magical, and should help the practicioner harmonize with Divinity.
Were I performing a Wedding, I'd use Primal Druidry to prepare for the Contractual Publication, as I'd want such a contract entered wisely. I'd also include all Paperwork in the Ritual, as the Wedding License makes the State an interested party to the proceedings, and wouldn't much care as to whether it was my Chop being used.
Jumping the Broomstick is where Bride and Groom fail to co-operate in being swept from the Circle.
In Connecticut, you can perform a wedding if Ordained, or it you continue in the Work of the Ministry. I don't see what my Magical Practices have to do with anything, but if they're going to insist that I look up old friends every millenium, I can accomodate.
Arawn
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| Backwards Progress | Apr 9th. at 12:24:35 pm EDT
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Terry (Irvington, Virginia) - Email Me
This type of progress to gain equal standing of some business structured pagan organizations on a par with xtian corporate religions and their officials may be useful in Western governments as a transitional step, but it's very harmful to the more important cause of ending discriminatory legal processes which inherently cannot protect far more fundamental religious rights to be free of discriminatory laws and legal structures designed to favor corporate sects and trivilialize and oppress other paths and religious peoples.
Within Common Law based governments, there may be an unavoidable need to have some process to identify clergy, so long as traditions of counseling exemption from medical licensure to practice Psychology, confidence for private information from coerced court testimony or police demands, or in some cases required reporting of child or elderly abuse in jurisdictions requiring that of other comparable professions including medical, legal, and sometimes teachers, remain in effect. Those issues generally don't require an up front government involvement, but only judicial standards if and when cases arise where those factors are part of legal disputes.
There's absolutely no valid reason to have government determine who is clergy or not for purposes of wedding or handfasting or similar religious ritual, nor parallel legal contract executions.
Historically, those traditions arose in times of illiteracy when couples were presumed unlikely to be able to complete even simple legal documents, including business owners (the term "cleric" has roots in monasteries serving as business document preparation contractors for illiterate business people, never mind average workers) . It also has roots in theocracy, where there was no distinction between church and state rituals or contracts.
In current Western societies, it's a reasonable presumption that anyone unable to execute a simple written contract directly with a town, county, or state documents registrar of whatever form is incompetent to enter the contract itself. As such, there's no need for a cleric, nor a state agent counterpart such as JP, judge, or in some states lawyer (as most are court officers, or "Commissioner of the Court" or similar) , to officiate marriages or comparable events in the first place. That's also a serious issue for Baha'is and other lesser known religions which have no clergy, but very different congregational rituals or other marriage processes that are not "officiated" in forms comparable to Abrahamic traditions at all.
For corporate business organized Wiccan sects to promote the notion that government should license clergy, and coerce them to act as state agents as a precondition of completing legal marriages, is contrary to what's needed to create serious equal protections of law that separates church and state, and respects privacy and personal paths over religious life rituals, or avoidance thereof.
Were these Wiccans to have developed a body of rituals for use within their variety of Wicca for use by those members and guests seeking such services, that would be a service to those pagans many would likely value highly.
By joining the frey promoting state meddling with religion, whether Canadian, US, or other human rights signatory country form, and promoting the notion that government license and document clergy, they're promoting discriinatory marriage laws, discriminatory clergy laws, and a larger attitude that issues which are rightfully not government matters in the first place be handled by coercive legal systems for which there's no current rational basis to retain, never mind a compelling interest to justify tampering with religious and cultural paths with which such processes simply cannot be made compatible.
Eliminating all marriage laws, and enacting civil domestic partnership contract laws covering limited partnership legal issues in which a strong government interest remains, could clean up that mess. That fundamental change would remove government meddling in what religious people differ strongly over as to different traditions or lifestyle and chosen family options, and end the worst abuses from pretending that religious officials can be licensed as government agents without serious legal abuses. Domestic partnership contracts under well designed law could be fully compatible with any or no religious rituals, but should no more require a minister or state agent officiant than buying or selling a house or business.
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| Well Good For Them! | Apr 9th. at 12:09:30 pm EDT
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D Lee Adkins (Okeechobee, Florida) - Email Me
I'm glad that they are married, I just hope it doesnt take a turn for the worst later on...
OH, and there was a typo: bezzem should be besom
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| Huzzahs All Around! | Apr 9th. at 11:51:13 am EDT
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Jeanne Lisbet (Calgary, Alberta) - Email Me
YAY! for them. Congrats to the Okanagan Pagan communities on their newfound legal recgonition of your temples!
May the Gods smile on you and yours!
Blessed BE!
JL
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