Rose

LOL!! Then you will love her!! Just got finished reading the newest book (june 2 09 was the release date) of the anita blake series, Skin Trade. It was a really good read. There are times when i wouldnt mind being in Anita's life but she has a much more complex world than Merry. I like Anita's books a lot but it would be nice to be a charactor who has a less complicated life with more perks! If you like kim harrison or charlaine harris (of the True Blood series) then you will like LKH. If you havent read any of them, then i highly suggest them if you like graphic. Happy reading!! On the by and by, Terry Brooks has a new book out on one of the first fantasy series I really read, The Magic Kingdom series. I havent read it yet but its on my list next. That would be a nice world to step into. I would love a talking dog, lol!!

I love love love LKH!! SHe is an awesome writer, i have nearly everything she has ever written, including the comic books (yeah I am a nerd!). The Merideith Gentry series is my absolute FAV! but be warned, she is a very adult writer, very graphic, very real. So read only if you enjoy reading of adult topics. I even read her blog!

Oh, one of my favorites! I would be Meridith Gentry from her series by Laurell K Hamilton. A real live faerie princess, lots of good looking immortal men, magic, and all, I love her world!

I am a military spouse also and I completely agree, very few pagan ministers. Everyone at my husbands work knows I am a minister because they get the mail there and see what I have ordered. I am seeing a pick up in interest due to that. All the luck to you!!

Dont you know thats how walmart recruits its demons.... I mean associates??? And to think, I spent 5 years of my life in that place ....... i think i need to light a candle and pray for my own soul!!!! And my best friend is still there busting the shoplifters, maybe i should pray for her too. Honeslty, I dont believe in the christian devil any longer so the 666 means little to me. I really like friday the 13th though, as all kinds of wierd things seem to happen on those days so I usually think well of them and have fun. My lucky number would be 5 though I think in numerolgy I am a 7 so I like that one too. I am not an overly superstitios person either so i dont put a whole lot into numbers.

Now this I find funny! Personally i think walmart was created by evil and ITS number is 666. I would have been even worse and invited her to the goat sacrifice we were having later!! Wonder what color she would have turned then?? lol!!!!!

I became ordained after many years of studying different religons on my own. I have been on a quest to find a path that I fit in with and that resonates within me. I was raised as a southern baptist but after having a traumatic experience at age 13 in which the community and many members of my family turned against me, I found not only a change in me but a change in the way I percieved the community and escpecially the "christians". I found these so called christians to be welll.... lets just say, not so christian. I know that they do not represent all christians but at that time it was what I saw and it made me rethink everything I had known about religon and what I expected of it and from it. I stopped going to church, by my choice, even though my grandfather always blamed my parents for this, he was a big part of the reason I stopped going after I saw his actions and for time, he wanted nothing to do with me, which was fine by me. Later we reconciled, so dont worry about that. After the age of 13, my parents let me begin making my own decisions on many things and it sounds crazy, but it worked very well for me. I began looking at different aspects of religon, first within christianity, and later outside of it. I spent much time looking into each religon, learning about it, and figuring out what worked for me. I have gained a whole lot of respect for other religons and cultures and really enjoy learning and expeiencing new religons. My parents were very supportive of my wanting to go to different churches and temples in my areas and they never cared what book I read so I was lucky not to have judgement in that area. So far I have most identified with Wicca, though I am still learning that path and dont consider myself profiecient enough in it yet. I wanted to be ordained for many many reasons, mostly for personal reasons rather than to conduct ceremonies but also because I am a military spouse, we are constantly surronded by different faiths, religions, cultures, and people. I feel that having the credtials from a church who welcome all fits better for our type of community no matter where in the world we are. And no, it may not be accepted by a different country, but people can still feel comfortable with me knowing that I have education, training, and backing of some sort. I am usually the person people come to for advice and I feel this allows me to advance that. I also want to have a place in the world that when i fully understand all my beliefs I can come and be accepted. I feel that all religons have value and that just because you dont believe as another does, that doesnt make them wrong, only different. There is much I dont agree with, but i understand. I also dont try to "preach" religon, only tell my beliefs, views and knowledge. Some people who know that I am ordained think it is a joke, that it is not real or serious. Others find it interesting. I treat this with all seriousness and right now i dont know where it is going, if I will end up doing weddings and such. Right now, I just want to learn and see where this road leads. Thanks for reading all this. May your road be filled with peace and happiness.

I see no reason why a ULC minister could not preform the wedding since they pretty much force you to do the civil ceremony anyways. If the civil ceremony is preformed then the couple is legally married and a religous or actual wedding can then be held (which is what the italians normally do anyways in order to be wed at locations other than a church, i saw three weddings held at the same castel on the same day and none of those were done by Roman Catholic priests, and trust me they do weddings BIG here!) By the way, I live in Italy and deal with the military everyday. I see no reason why after the civil ceremony that a ULC minister could not preside over a wedding.

Ciao, "MARRIAGE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS IN ITALY DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF ITALY IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ACCURATE IN A PARTICULAR CASE. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC ITALIAN LAWS OR REGIONAL REQUIREMENTS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO ITALIAN AUTHORITIES. OVERVIEW: Persons wishing to be married in Italy must appear with two witnesses and make a declaration of their intention to marry before the Ufficiale di Stato Civile (Civil Registrar) of the city or town where the marriage is to take place. At the time of making their declaration the couple must present all required documents (see below). Following the declaration it is usually necessary for banns, or marriage announcement, to be posted at the local comune (city hall) for two consecutive Sundays before the marriage occurs if one of the parties is Italian or if the U.S. citizen is a resident of Italy. However, banns are waived by the Ufficiale di Stato Civile if neither party to the marriage is Italian and neither is residing in Italy. On the fourth day following the second Sunday on which the banns are posted (or any time after banns have been waived) the couple may be married, either in a civil ceremony or a religious one. A civil ceremony is performed by the Ufficiale di Stato Civile or one of his assistants. RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES: If a religious ceremony is performed by a Roman Catholic priest, a separate civil ceremony is unnecessary but the priest must register the marriage with the Ufficiale di Stato Civile in order for it to be legal. Because of the special Italian requirements applicable to marriage performed by non-Roman Catholic clergymen, the latter usually insist on a prior civil ceremony before performing a religious ceremony in order to ensure the legality of the marriage. TRANSLATORS: Local authorities require the presence of a translator if neither party speaks Italian. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE: The following documents must be presented to the Ufficiale di Stato Civile when making a declaration of intention to marry: 1. U.S. passport or, if a member of the Armed Forces, identification card; 2. Birth certificate (certified copy), which shows the names of both parents; 3. Evidence of termination of any previous marriage (final divorce or annulment decree or death certificate); 4. Sworn statement of consent to the marriage by the parents or legal guardian if the American citizen is under 18; 5. A declaration (atto notorio) , sworn to by four (4) witnesses before either an Italian consular officer in the United States or, in Italy, at a Pretura or before a mayor or town clerk, stating that according to the laws to which the citizen is subject in the United States there is no obstacle to his or her marriage. Any American going to Italy to be married is urged to obtain this declaration before leaving the United States as it may be much easier to find four witnesses who know him or her sufficiently well to make such a declaration in the United States rather than in Italy. 6. A declaration, sworn to by the U.S. citizen before a U.S. Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in Italy, stating that according to the laws to which the citizen is subject in the United States there is no obstacle to his or her marriage. Evidence of U.S. citizenship (passport, naturalization certificate, birth certificate showing birth in the United States) must be shown to the U.S. Consular Officer at the time of making this declaration. U.S. military personnel must also present final approval of his/her commanding officer for the marriage. Presentation of this declaration allows Italian authorities to reduce from three weeks to approximately four days the time you must wait before being granted a marriage license. FEES: The U.S. Consular Officer will charge a $55.00 fee to notarize your declaration. There will be additional fees associated with translations, apostilles and ordering of public documents. AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS: All public records issued outside of Italy and intended for use in Italy must have a "Hague certification," or apostille , which is a form affixed to a public record by the Secretary of State of the U.S. state issuing the document under the terms of a treaty. When obtaining the required birth, death or divorce documents, ask the issuing office for instructions and fees for obtaining an apostille, or contact the office of the appropriate state Secretary of State. Information about the Hague Legalization Convention, as it is commonly known, is also available on the internet or by autofax (see below). TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENTS: The document(s) must be translated into Italian and the translation must be certified by an Italian Consular Officer. The addresses of translation services and the Italian Embassy or nearest Consulate can be found in the telephone directory of any large or fairly large American city. you may also check the Embassy of Italy's homepage on the Internet http://www.italyemb.org SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT AT THE U.S. EMBASSY/CONSULATE: You must contact the U.S. Embassy/Consulate prior to your departure form the United States to make certain that a U.S. Consular Officer will be available on the date when you plan make your declaration. U.S. EMBASSY/CONSULATE LOCATIONS: U.S. Embassy Rome, Via Veneto 119/A, 00187 Rome Tel. (011)(39)(6) 46741; Fax (011)(39)(6) 488-2672. U.S. Consulate General Florence, Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci 38, 50123 Florence Tel. (011)(39)(55) 239-8276; Fax. (011)(39)(55) 284-088. U.S. Consulate General Milan, Via Principe Amadeo 2, 20121 Milan Tel. (011)39)(2) 290-351; Fax. (011)(39)(2) 2900-1165. U.S. Consulate General Naples, Piazza della Repubblica, 80122 Naples Tel. (011)(39)(81) 583-8111;Fax. (011)(39)(81) 761-1869. CERTIFIED COPIES OF YOUR ITALIAN MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: You should request a number of certified copies of your marriage certificate, as they will be needed for a variety of employment, insurance and legal purposes, and may be difficult to obtain at a later date. There is a small fee for each. APOSTILLE FROM ITALIAN AUTHORITIES: Ask the local authorities to have an apostille affixed to each certified copy of the Italian marriage certificate. In Italy, the following individuals are authorized to affix apostilles: 1) I Procurators della Reppublica (The Public Prosecutor); 2) The Competent Prefetti (Heads) of the Territories for the Valley of Aosta; Il Presidente della Regione (The Head of the District for the Provinces of Trente and Bolsano; Il Commissario di Governo (The Commissioner of the Government). See also our general flyer on the "Hague Legalization Convention" available via our home page on the Internet orvia our automated fax service. USING THE INTERNET: The Department of State's Country Specific Information for Italy and more detailed information about obtaining an apostille are available on the Internet via the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs Home Page at the URL: http://travel.state.gov or via the main State Department Home Page at http://www.state.gov under "Travel." USING THE AUTOFAX: The Department of State's Country Specific Information for Italy and more detailed information about obtaining an apostille are also available on autofax by dialing (202) 647-3000 and following the prompts. " http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_754.html Also if you are dealing with the US military, please contact the local base to check with military regulations. Oh, also, the public offices are often only open on certain days and often only very short hours so do your homework before hand!!

CEC 04739: (6) A nonprofit institution owned, controlled, and operated and maintained by a bona fide church, religious denomination, or religious organization comprised of multidenominational members of the same well-recognized religion, lawfully operating as a nonprofit religious corporation pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 9110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code, if the education is limited to instruction in the principles of that church, religious denomination, or religious organization, or to courses offered pursuant to Section 2789 of the Business and Professions Code, and the diploma or degree is limited to evidence of completion of that education, and the meritorious recognition upon which any honorary degree is conferred is limited to the principles of that church, religious denomination, or religious organization. Institutions operating under this paragraph shall offer degrees and diplomas only in the beliefs and practices of the church, religious denomination, or religious organization. The enactment of this paragraph expresses the legislative intent that the state shall not involve itself in the content of degree programs awarded by any institution operating under this paragraph, as long as the institution awards degrees and diplomas only in the beliefs and practices of the church, religious denomination, or religious organization. Institutions operating under this paragraph shall not award degrees in any area of physical science. Any degree or diploma granted in any area of study under these provisions shall contain on its face, in the written description of the title of the degree being conferred, a reference to the theological or religious aspect of the degree's subject area. Degrees awarded under this paragraph shall reflect the nature of the degree title, such as "associate of religious studies," or "bachelor of religious studies," or "master of divinity" or "doctor of divinity." The use of the degree titles "associate of arts" or "associate of science," "bachelor of arts" or "bachelor of science," "master of arts" or "master of science," or "doctor of philosophy" or "Ph.D." shall only be awarded by institutions approved to operate under Article 8 (commencing with Section 94900) or meeting the requirements for an exemption under Section 94750. The enactment of this paragraph is intended to prevent any entity claiming to be a nonprofit institution owned, controlled, and operated and maintained by a bona fide church, religious denomination, or religious organization comprised of multidenominational members of the same well-recognized religion, lawfully operating as a nonprofit religious corporation pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 9110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code, from marketing and granting degrees or diplomas that are represented as being linked to their church, religious denomination, or religious organization, but which, in reality, are degrees in secular areas of study. An institution operating under this paragraph shall file annually with the council evidence to demonstrate its status as a nonprofit religious corporation under the Corporations Code. A college or university operating under this paragraph shall file annually with the council evidence to demonstrate its status as a nonprofit religious corporation under the Corporations Code. " California recognizes the ULC as a degree granting institution. It is not to be confused with accredidation which is something different and means something different. And yes, the court cases are really interesting.