Musing on…Ordained Butterflies

A butterfly in China flaps its wings, starting a cascade of small events that eventually give rise to a Gulf-coast hurricane.  Events in life can be like that as well: a small event that grows to have profound effect on one’s life.

Back in 1998, I became an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church.  While many treat getting ordained by this church as a goof, I actually gave it some thought.  I didn’t want to do it if I wasn’t going to treat it seriously

, but I’d be less than honest if I ranked it at the same level as being ordained in the Catholic Church. 

So why do it?

For about as long back into childhood as I can remember, I’ve pondered my place in the faith/religious landscape.  No matter my feelings at the time, the fact remains that the one constant was that I was still connected to faith…even if that connection at times was only by the thinnest of gossamer threads.  Over the years, I became very open about various beliefs while also viewing them as being personally restrictive to me.  I, of course, eventually started hearing about these web sites that would ordain you into their church.

When I first researched this online ordination thing, I started appreciating what the Universal Life Church had to offer.  In a nutshell, it encompassed much of my own feelings about faith.  After about a month or so of making sure it was a good fit for me (not the two seconds so many take), I filled out the forms and became an ordained minister.

From the moment my request was confirmed, my life started to change.  I treated people with more kindness and compassion.  I didn’t intend to, but when situations arose, I realized that by accepting to be ordained, I also accepted the responsibility of living up to what I thought that meant.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t a chore…in fact, it opened my heart.

It’s been over nine years since I got my little certificate, and I like to think that in that time I’ve become a better person.  Sure, I’ve always been described as a good person, someone who was nice to everyone, but now there was a little more oomph behind that, at least from my perspective.

I do forget, sometimes, that I get to do weddings and baptisms and hold services and do a myriad of things that ministers are allowed to do.  Mostly I just try to live my life well, and to treat people with respect, compassion, and (if they are friends or family) love.  I’d have done that anyway, but now I don’t seem to take it quite as casually or thoughtlessly as before.  Basically, I’m teaching (myself and others) by example instead of proselytizing.

There have been times when I thought it would be nice to gather a bunch of people in a circle and talk about our beliefs…especially if the beliefs sort of meshed.  Sort of a small congregation.  (Anyone who knows me know how much I hate having to be to do something on a regular schedule.  Shoot, I’m barely able to handle the eight Sabbats of the year, never mind something more frequent.)  It would be comforting sometimes to feel like I wasn’t alone in how I viewed faith.  I sometimes get tired of others trying to convert me to their point of view, but they view it as a part of their own faith, and I let them try.  After all, they might just convince me.  I’m always perfectly willing to admit I was wrong, on any subject, if you are able to convince me.

What being a minister has done is given me a great peace of spirit.  It’s made me feel more connected.  It’s made it easier for me to smile…even when life’s events could be easier.

Where will this all lead?  I don’t really know any better now than I did in 1998.  It’s given me options…more than I’d expected.  It’s not just about being able to marry people, it’s about having the privilege to appreciate what is around me and my world.  Everything is connected, sometimes in unexpected ways, but we do all affect and effect each other.  We can never be sure which actions we undertake will have what effect.  Something as simple as a smile to a check-out person when they are having a hard day could have as profound effect as a butterfly in China.