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Mawwiage. Can I get in trouble for performing a wedding without a license?

Matt Arnold — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:21:31 -0800

Can I get in trouble for performing a wedding without a wicense? I would not sign the wedding certificate or any other paperwork. Just "perform". I am a divorced atheist permanent-bachelor who dislikes the institution of marriage and is bored at weddings, but have been asked to perform a wedding tomorrow in the state of Michigan.

A friend of a friend of a friend is getting married tomorrow because the military is sending them overseas. They will get married at a Justice of the Peace at a courthouse. That will make them completely married.

Immediately after that in a private home, with a few guests present, they want a ceremony that looks and sounds traditionally religious in mainstream American culture. They are barely religious themselves. Unable to find a Christian minister on one day's notice who would work on the Fourth of July, they started asking around for anyone with "the barest superficial veneer of religiosity". My friend thought of me for the following reasons:

(1) I graduated from Bible college. Granted, it was with an art degree. That's good enough for them, because I memorized so much scripture when I was a Christian, so I can make sure the words are right. Whenever I talk about how much I dislike my religious background, I include copious references to actual scripture passages.

(2) I have an excellent voice and am good at public speaking. I can look very conservative, when I want to. I played Brad in a stage adaptation of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I balked at first, but my friend said it's an acting job, like hiring a clown for a child's birthday party. "Performing a wedding" will have an emphasis on "perform".

If I do this, I will not include "by the power invested in me" because there isn't any. The bride, groom, and all guests know all the facts about me, so it is not deceptive in any way. I would not sign the marriage certificate or any other paperwork claiming to have any governmental validity. I've never heard of anything like this, and I only have one day to find out: Can I still get in trouble? Would I only get in trouble if I charge money for the "performance"?

Did clergy used to preside over sign-offs?

pxe2000 — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:05:53 -0800

How frequently did TV sign-offs include prayers, blessings, sermons, or other messages from the clergy? I first heard of this practice in the book Linden Hills, but assumed it was fictional (and a reflection of the hellfire-and-brimstone atmosphere of the community in the book). When I was searching for something on YouTube a few days ago, I came across this sign-off (SFW) from a former UHF station in Boston. Was this practice at all popular at other stations?

How does a Protestant minister handle a confession of murder?

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:29:08 -0800

A murder was confessed to me. I am a minister. What is my legal obligation: to report the crime to the authorities, or to maintain the confidentiality of the confession? This is not hypothetical. The details: I was a volunteer leader at an out-of-state summer camp. After an evening sermon I preached, another adult volunteer, age 26, said he wanted to talk to me. This is his story:

Ten years earlier, when he was a junior in high school, he and his girlfriend befriended a homeless man that they only knew as Roy. Everyday after school they would pick Roy up and take him on his regular errands. One day when the confessor was sick, his girlfriend picked up Roy alone. He attacked and raped her. She called the confessor, a 6'8" jock, who found Roy and killed him in a fit of rage. This happened in a rural, country town. He loaded the body in his truck, dug a grave in a nondescript field, and buried Roy.

In the subsequent decade, no one came looking for the missing indigent. In the meantime, further tragedy: the girlfriend died in a car wreck shortly after graduation. The confessor turned to alcohol and then drugs, including cocaine, to deal with his feelings of guilt. I mention this because I have been a casual acquaintance of this person since before the event occured, and I knew of his struggles with substance abuse, and of his rehab and recovery. That part I can verify. I have no reason to doubt that the murder took place, though.

Other than a therapist, who considers this information completely confidential, he has told no one. I am torn. I pastor a Protestant, non-demoniational church. We do not consideral confession a sacrament, as a Catholic would, so there are no particular clerical obligations to uphold. Our polity is complete congregation autonomy: there is no supervising bishop or denomination headquarters to consult. Further, this person is not a member of my church, but he came to me, clearly, because he wanted to speak to a minister. I don't know if that is important or not. I am a minister, but not his minister. I am hesitant to bring this question to my friends in ministry, as most of them know this person and probably would be able to figure out of whom I am speaking. So, Mefites: any insight or guidance? Call the DA's office or forget about it, or something else?