We appreciate your interest in The Monastery and understand your concerns as there has been a lot of misinformation surrounding the fact that over 50 online ULC's operate independently from Modesto. It was the ULC's founder, Kirby Hensley, who upon reading the First Amendment, purposefully intended that the mantel of ordination be passed on freely by each ULC minister, giving no organization exclusive ownership of ULC or obligation to Modesto.
In 1977 when the ULC revivalist movement was undergoing a period of rapid growth Br. Martin founded the Universal Life Church Monastery to accommodate the personal needs of homeless individuals, New Age seekers and new ministers through The Monastery. Following Hensley's edict, our ministers are encouraged to start their own ministries with freedom to decide the direction, theology, and scope of their mission.
We are now our own Church based on the tenets of the ULC. We keep all of our records internally. We had and still have the same legal standing as any religious institution under the US Constitution. We issue Ordination Certificates and notarized Letters of Good Standing to all ministers in our data banks. Hence, any request for documentation of ordination through this site that we do not have on file, we will continue to fax to Modesto if we do not have a record of such.
Please understand that there are no "bad guys" among the different Universal Life Churches. Churches just like the laity they serve often find themselves traveling different paths despite their common beliefs. We are all children of the same Universe.
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