Rev Douglas Trouten

Used to play the clarinet back in 5th and 6th grade, ended up dropping out of band due to issues with the teacher. I think I still have the clarinet around here somewhere in one of the closets. Don't even think I remember how to read sheet music since that was over 20 years ago. I know I would like to learn to play the guitar (acoustic preferably) and maybe the piano/keyboard just to say I can play them.

I can tell you what keeps me here on the forums, the Camaraderie and our willingness to share our ceremonies and help each other out. I view the ULC as my church, even though I have never attended one of the services at the HQ (downside of living almost on the other side of the country). If given the chance I would probably be at the HQ's services regularly.

Remember Rev. Kirby Hensley when he founded the Church believe we are all ordained from the start using John 15:16 as the precedent. Also remember the Churches one Belief (Doctrine): To do that which is right. As I believe previously mentioned even with more strict requirements, it doesn't stop the bad apples from getting in. Then again look at the larger established churches like the Roman Catholic church, they are racked with scandals because of the behavior of their priests, and even cases where priests have stolen from the coffers for their own personal gain.

People I am associated with both work and personal life all know I am and Ordained Minister. I let them know as long as I am not busy working I am free for them to talk to if they need an ear, or have a religious/spiritual question. I try and keep my non-ministerial duties separated from job related duties as much as possible, which for the most part happens, when it doesn't I do know when to stop and say lets talk about this later.

Well a fair is a festival. some have a midway with games and rides such as a county fair, others like a Renaissance Fair, have a more historical Knights in shining armor theme with shows such as jousting, and the ever yummy turkey legs. lol Seriously though what is fair is all based on individual perspective, just because you think something might be fair doesn't mean I will. A prime example would be if you baked a cake and I bought the ingredients, You might say since you baked it you should get 50%, but I could say that's not fair, I paid for the ingredients I should get 75% of the cake. Or if a group of us were treasure hunting and found the treasure, I might say to be fair we split the treasure evenly, even though you may been the one who did the research on the possible location, while the rest of use did the manual labor to retrieve the treasure, Johnny thinks that you since you only did the "book" work it woudl be fair if you got a lesser share of the treasure.

Heres the images of the embosser. It came unassembled (die and handle seperate) in a hard plastic case. The image of the embossed seal was the sample they sent. I did emboss some black red and green cardstock scraps, though will have to upload the shots of them to a new post since at the limit. As mentioned the Embosser cost me $23.89 of that $4.99 was the shipping. Took about a week and a half to arrive, USPS was notified on Sat 11/7 the package was ready for pickup, package picked up Wed 11/12 and sent 2-day Priority mail (probably would have been here sooner but the seller was closed Monday and Tuesday to give their employees an extended Veterans Day holiday). If its not out of line to post the link to the embosser here it is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z8T6X4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 if linking to the Amazon page where we can order this Embosser is inappropriate for the forums or this section, I apologize in advance and Mods please feel free to remove the link. When I purchased it it was through the Amazon Smiles program so that Amazon donated part of the cost of the Embosser to the charity of my choice that has partnered with Amazon Smiles. For the Amazon Smiles program I have chosen the Carriage Town Ministries of Flint http://www.carriagetown.org/(the Carriage Town Ministries is a local Homeless Shelter that provides care and support to Men Women and children of the Flint area, along with providing the shelter they also have educational programs available to help train individuals with life and job skills that will help get them back on their feet). The Carriage Town Ministries is one of the two charities I regularly donate to, the other being the Old News Boys of Flint (the ONB's help provide a Christmas to less fortunate children by providing them with gifts for Christmas). Just found on amazon Avery 2" gold foil seals (44/pack) for $4 with free shipping, about to order them with the last of the amazon gift card credit I have right now. The Gold Seals I have from here I will probably save for my own use (Official Title certificates, Doctor of Divinity certificate, spare copy of Credentials etc...). The Image of the Embosser after the die (the silver thing) is the embosser and the die in the case.

The embosser I ordered should be arriving today, depending on the USPS. I am not sure what image they used for the seal, supplied two, one that is the same as the foil seals you can buy through the bookstore here (since dont have any editing software asked if they could remove the starbusrt points from the image of this seal design that's on the Wedding Words and More disc) and then one that you can see on the ULCHQ homepage (if they are unable to remove the starburst points from the other seal). Total price for the embosser with shipping was $23.89. Didn't order any blank gold foil seals, will be getting those here in the next couple weeks, still have some of the Seals I bought from the bookstore here last year that I will be using up first. As I mentioned in an above post, will try to get a picture of the embosser and the embossed seal (will most likely be embossed on a piece of cardstock with light rubbing of charcoal over the embossed image to allow one to see it in the picture) when it does arrive.

Welcome Eileen, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, cookies and Doughnuts are over there on the table, take a seat and relax. 1. Which Facebook site is legitimate and would offer the most support and guidance? The official ULC Facebook (its run by Brother Kevin who also runs the ULC.net Bookstore and forums here) page is https://www.facebook.com/groups/116505275027724/Theres also the ULC Seminary page https://www.facebook.com/ulc.seminary?fref=ts which is run by one of our Ministers more for her congregation and the Seminary program she runs. 2. Is there anyone else in this forum who may have experience with New York state and its requirements? New York State requirements can be found here https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/4210/ 3. Is it recommended to be involved with a local (brick-n-mortar) congregation, church? This depends on the Minister and where they live, some locations require the Minister to be part of an established Church (in Ontario Canada for example the Minister's church needs to be registered with the Providence they Minister resides in and will be performing the Marriages in, yet here in Michigan USA any minister of any church authorized by the church to perform services can, even if they are from out of state). I myself have no congregation per say, it is an informal gathering of 5 or so people (not counting myself), and we typically meet up at one of the "members" homes during the cooler months or if the weather is bad, warmer months and nice weather it might be at a park, the beach, a local nature preserve, etc... Again welcome to the forums, you will find minsters of all faiths here, from Christianity, to Judaism, to Wicca. to Buddhists, to Agnostics, etc... we are a friendly group here and respect the religious beliefs of all the other Ministers here. Word of advise, stay away from anything dealing with a group called the ULC World headquarters from Florida, they were at one point harassing ministers ordained through Modesto (ULCHQ) trying to claim that we weren't legally ordained, and to be we had to go through them and get ordained for Free but if you read the fine print you have to pay an annual fee of about $85 to keep the ordination valid. Browsing their site I have also noticed they seem to charge more then the MSRP for a bunch of the materials and other items they they sell. One book they have listed for about $25 costs roughly $16 through Amazon and Church supply websites. Another example of their overcharging is for a portable PA system you wear on your waist, they are charging $60, but if you go to B&H Photo and Video (a large Photography and Video supply store located in New York City) and Amazon you can order the exact same Portable PA unit for about $25. The second site I would recommend you staying away from for the most part is anything dealing with the Monastery, they claim they are part of the ULC Modesto group, when in fact they aren't, they split from Modesto back in 2006 after a hostile takeover, at which time they stopped forwarding all ordination requests to Modesto. In fact depending on which site of theirs you visit, they have different contact addresses and phone numbers, though the store link on each of them takes you to the Seattle site. I know myself and some of the others here won't be purchasing anything from their online store. This isn't to say that they don't have some free resources available on their numerous sites that we can find useful such as hot to anoint oil for use, they also used to have free MP3 downloads of wedding music, though not sure if its still available on one of their sites. The only official sites are the ULCHQ.com (this is the site for the actual Church in Modesto) and this one ULC.net. You also have the ULCSeminary.org while not an officially authorized site is recognized, Rev. Long who runs the Seminary forwards all ordination request she receives to Modesto, and the only Official item she offers are Ordination Credential certificates (these orders are forwarded to Modesto and they then send the Credentials out to the one who ordered them through the Seminary). Rev. Long also has various courses available for those wanting to further their religious studies (hence the ULC Seminary name).

I would say the plain stoles that are sold here would work. I eventually plan on getting around to it and ordering a Purple one and a White one. I have also been looking at possibly making my own from plans I have found available online (unfortunately the plans aren't free). If I did this I would easily have it any color/colors I would like, plus it would be custom made for me.

The best qualities of a friend are: 1) Someone who likes/cares/loves you for you and not your race, religion, sexual orientation, social status, etc... 2) Someone who is willing to put themselves out there for you and not expect any thing in return. 3) Someone that understands even though you may say or do things things to them in the heat of the moment that are hurtful, they are still willing to stand by your side. 4) Someone that is willing to be a pillar and prop you up during times of trouble. 5) Someone who gives you their ear and simply listens when you need to talk, and they will withhold all judgement. 6) Someone who wont leave you just because something/someone better comes along. 7) Someone who wont turn the friendship into a toxic relationship, lead you down a destructive path or into dangerous situations on purpose. As we all know even the best intentions can go awry. 8) Someone who will forgive you for mistakes you make. 9) Someone who will flat out tell you what you need to hear when you are doing something stupid, self destructive, dangerous, or harmful to others, even if you don't like what they have to say, a friend should still be there by your side when you have done these things. Now people do change and do grow apart, that is part of growing. A true friend even with you growing apart will still be a friend and think of you and will still support your decisions. My best friend in high school is now married and doesnt live in the area any more, even though we dont talk as much as we used to we still keep in contact and send each other birthday wishes, holiday greetings, etc... and let each other know we are thinking of them. I have also had people that I thought were my friend, but because of their behavior I have no longer have ties with them, they got involved in a bad crowd, drugs, or made stupid choices and when I confronted them about these choices and tried to help them they acted like I didn't matter. I don't give up right away, I will keep trying to help, but even I know when it trying to help is pointless. Even when I have cut my ties to them, I still think of them, and have told them that if they ever get their act straightened up I am here if they would like to try and repair the friendship. And yes these are my opinions and I know some may disagree with them, and you know what That's all right, everyone should have their own opinions on what the best qualities of a friend are.

Bit the bullet and ordered a handheld embosser from amazon ($18.40 plus shipping), the image I am having put on the embossing die is the ULC Seal found on the Wedding Words and More disc. will post images of the embosser when it arrives along with a sample embossing of the seal.

Thought that I had previously replied to this thread. Why I Became Ordained by the ULC. I became ordained back in April of 2008 during my journey for spiritual self discovery. I have been interested in the various religions for a while, in fact back in 1999 while in Basic Training I was attending a different Religious Service each week, surprisingly due to the recommendation of one of the Chaplains (he ran the Protestant services every Sunday for the battalion my training company was in) after talking with him one Sunday after the service about how while I believe in a Higher Being how do I know that the religion I am following is the true one. During the talk he pointed out that while he is a Christian Minister/Chaplain he understands where I am coming from, and that I should explore other religions to find myself, and since I believe in a Higher Being I may actually be an Agnostic Theist. Between this time I was attending different Religious Services less and less frequently due to my work schedule. When I found out about the ULC in late March of 2008 I did some research, though it wasn't enough, and decided to get ordained. Due to lack of research I went and got my Ordination through the Monastery. It wasnt until the end of April I finally discovered ULC.net and ULCHQ.com. I shot an email to Brother Kevin here at ULC.net asking if the Monastery ordination was recognized by the ULCHQ, his response was since it was in April or 2008 it unfortunately wasnt recognized. At that point I did some further research and found out about the hostile take over of the Monastery, and submitted a request for Ordination with the ULCHQ through here (ULC.net). I then registered for the forums here made a couple posts and lurked for about a year. Then my computer at the time crashed on me and was unsavable. Due to not having a computer put the forums and ULC.net to the back of my mind. It wasnt until last year when a couple of my friends were talking about getting married that I came back here, by this time I forgot I had an account on the forums and created this one. While my friends didnt end up getting married, not by their choice, but due to a situation where he would end up losing his SS payments if they got married, I did perform an Affirmation of Love ceremony for them, and yes they are still together. Then in December 2013 I had another friend that new i was ordained ask me if I could do a Vow Renewal for her and her husbands anniversary, which I did. Since refinding the ULC.net forums I have been back on my road of Spiritual Self Discovery, and am now looking at doing the courses available here that are offered through the ULCHQ, and even the courses offered by the ULC Seminary. I have also looked into some outside sources, such as the Great Courses series of college level lectures, having obtained via iTunes the Great Courses Comparative Religion course (lecture), and am currently looking at getting some of the other Great Courses Religion courses (lectures). Well figured better late then never to post why I became ordained by the ULC and what I am doing with said ordination.

Would like to wish all out Pagan and Wiccian ministers and forum members to have a nice Samhain tomorrow. Hope you have had a plentiful harvest and the spirits coming from the Otherword who are malicious be sufficiently scared off from your turnip lanterns. Also as it is the time for us to celebrate and pay respect to those friends, family and other loved ones who have died. Don't forget since the veil is thinnest on Samhain to invite those who we cherish that have passed to join in on the festivities. While not a Pagan or Wiccian myself I will be honoring those friends and family who are no longer with me, along with those who have died for us to protect our freedoms, be it military, police, firefighters, etc... May God (Gods and Goddesses for those who believe in more then one deity) watch over the spirits of our loved ones who have passed and watch over those of us still living in our mortal shells.

I would say no. Marriage licenses require you to get married in the state they are issued. Some even require the couple to get married in the county that issued the license. Each state also has its own requirements for a couple getting married, such as if the couple needs to have blood drawn and a lab to test it. Take Michigan for example. To legally get married here you have to go to your county clerk at least 3 days before you are getting married to apply for the marriage license and submit the required documents, it is then valid for 33 days from date of application (the couple actually has 30 days in which to get married before the license is void), and the couple can get married any where in the state. BUT if the couple are from out of state, they must go to the county clerk of the county in which the ceremony will be performed, and then the license is only valid in that county. I would recommend to the couple that they find out the marriage license requirements in the state they plan on visiting, then insure they are able to apply for the license in person in person according to that states requirements (ie Couple needs to provide copies of IDs for both individuals, copies of divorce records, apply the required number of days before the wedding, blood work done, etc...).

I have experienced the same with the Family Christian locatedin Flint, MI, they are always friendly and helpful. Ordered my tabbed collar shirt in store through them and even though the wrong shirt was shipped (they recieved one of the collarless shirts that you wear with the "dog collars") they had the correct shirt there the two days later on a Monday. Same goes for the Michigan Church Supply Store here in the Flint, MI area, though was told if I was a minister for a local church then I would be eligible for the Ministers/Pastors/Fathers/Clergy discount, which is no sales tax. Michigan Church Supply is where I picked up my copy of the Star Book for Ministers. They even supplied me with a couple of their print catalogs.

Ok I was an idiot , and yes I know double post, but its past the allotted time for editing my original post. I forgot to check one major place online, Amazon . After my initial post above I went to Amazon to check on something totally different and realized I should look to see if there's any embossers available through them. Found some handheld one starting around $20 or so that the seller will do custom logos for on the dies along with a seller that does extra dies for about $15. Have some credit on Amazon from gift cards, will have to see how much I have and possibly order an Embosser and an extra die or two. Now just need to find a good source for foil seals, especially if I do order the Embosser through Amazon.

Sorry in advance if this is the wrong section of the forum. Figured that due to the topic it would be best suited for the General discussion section. Does anyone know of a good source to purchase a custom embosser for embossing foil seals with the ULC logo/seal (the logo/seal that is found on the Gold Foil seals that can be purchased here)that isn't too expensive? I know the Wedding Words and More on Disc contains a copy of the seal and the disc states that it is available for us ULC ministers to freely use on certificates, letterheads, etc... I have found a few online sources but they all seem to be text only no custom image (though the one I seen mentioned on the Staples website does say Custom Logo in the product description for about $45 or so) or the ones that allow for custom artwork are around the $150+ range . I am not too worried about the embosser also stamping the logo onto the seal with ink, though that could be a plus. Thanks in advance for any help directing me to a source for a good embosser that allows for custom artwork that is fairly inexpensive (say approx $50 or so).

Wasn't Christianity in its infancy considered a so called religion and deemed blasphemous? What about the Jedi Church is that a so called religion? If so are you willing to tell that to the multitude of believers of that religion? If today one were to look back couldn't one say that the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, etc... all had so called religions? Just because you might not agree with a religion doesn't make it a so called religion. Now for the Pastafarians if I can get the beer volcano changed to a Dr. Pepper volcano I would be happy, though I could care less about the stripper factory (used to bar tend in a strip club so strippers don't really do it for me, seen my fair share of them every night when I was working there and also seen how it can change a girl when they start stripping, though I still occasionally visit a strip club with friends, though when I do it is usually when they go to celebrate a birthday or something else).

I would suggest getting a copy of Zondervan Church and Nonprofit Tax and Financial Guide and a copy of Zondervan Ministers Tax Guide to start off. They are available here at ULC.net, you can also try and see if your local library has any copies that you can borrow. If you want to start your ministry as a ULC affiliated on there are some forms you will need to fill out and send to ULCHQ in Modesto, they can be found here http://www.ulc.net/index.php?page=forms or for purchase form ULCHQ here http://ulchqcom.ipower.com/osCommerce/catalog/index.php?cPath=16 IIRC from glancing over the Congregational Agreement (the Contract between your congregation/church and the ULCHQ) there is a small donation of $35 required to help cover the costs of getting your congregations records started and confirmed at HQ. Once this is done you will then be required to send in either monthly or quarterly reports with your congregations total number of membership meetings, attendance to membership meetings, number of Board of Directors meetings, record of Congregational Income (donations from members), disbursement of funds (expenses the congregation had to pay, such as operating expenses (rent and utility fees) and other expenses (such as advertising and hosting a community event), and finally the congregations balance on hand. Theres also a spot that you can describe special activities that your congregation has performed such as buying gifts for children of low income families in the community. Along with the monthly/quarterly reports there is a $5/month donation that is to be sent to the HQ to help cover the costs of keeping your congregations records up to date. You have already done one of the things I would suggest when looking for help, post here. You can also try and contact the ULCHQ for help, their website is http://www.ulchq.com there you will find their mailing address, email address, office phone number and fax number. Since I have never had to call them I am unfortunately unable to give you the hours of business for the HQ.

I find this kind of difficult to enforce since: 1) certain Religious Denominations such as, I believe, the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses believe that any male member of the church (who has been baptized in the case of the Jehovah Witnesses) over a certain age can perform Ministerial duties for the church. 2) The Church/individual would have to make sure that the D.D.s and ordinations are all registered with the state. I don't see many religious organizations wanting to participate in something like this, to me requiring religious leaders to be registered is too close to the events leading up to WWII by the then German Government towards members of certain religions and ethnic backgrounds, it could allow unscrupulous individuals within the States government to go after (covertly more then likely) those religious groups they see as trouble makers. Now if you are talking on a global scale then yes there might be some states (in this case state means Nation/Country) that require the religious Leaders to have a D.D. (or the equivalent to a D.D.) and to be registered. As we all know not every Country in the world has the Religious Freedoms that the USA has, some are controled by fascist governments that control almost all aspects of its citizens lives from where they work to what they worship.

To further what Dorian has said. The Doctoral Degrees issued by the ULC (refereed to as the Church in the rest of this post) are technically only recognized by the Church itself, and its members. Yes you can use the Dr. title, though as Dorian said those with traditional Doctorates from educational institutions such as Harvard, UCLA, Ferris State, a Seminary School (if they offer Doctorate degrees) ect... will/may look at the degrees available through the ULC as more of a novelty then an actual Degree since there was no real "schooling" required to obtain them. Now there is one exception, the Doctor of Divinity, here in the US the D.D. is traditionally an Honorary Degree, meaning that it is issued by a University, Seminary, Church-related college, or even a Church itself. In the case of the Church the degrees are all issued by the Church's "educational" branch, the Degrees while not accredited by a National or Regional accrediting agency are accredited (ie authorized) by the Church's accrediting agency (the "educational" branch of the Church). Again as both Dorian and myself have said you can use the title of Dr. of (the Doctorate Degree you chose), though it wont be recognized by institutions of higher education, they are mainly for use in the Church. While I haven't gotten any of the Degree's from the Church yet, I am looking at getting the Dr. of Divinity (Honorary) Degree, the PhD in Religion, and at least on other of the Church's Degrees, just have to figure out which one/ones I would like to do/get. BTW welcome to the Forums and the Church RealTrain, you will find us a fairly laid back and friendly lot here. I would recommend posting a brief introductory post in the New Members section here http://ulc.net/forum/index.php/forum/12-new-members-faq/

Tracy- your welcome. I figured I would share this find after seeing it at my local Dollar Tree and buying a bunch. I probably, in the last 2 years alone, have spent about $100-$125 on Bibles from Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc... just to end up giving them away. The Bible I have now is from Family Christian that costs $24.99 normally (when I bought it they were running a promotion, $5 for the bible with any purchase over $10 iirc), and it is one I don't plan on giving away, I got it because of the black leather cover with the Celtic Cross on the cover. The Dollar Tree Bibles are inexpensive enough to buy in bulk and hand out without a second thought. Though I will still get more expensive Bibles to hand out to certain people (such as just ordering one of the Precious Moments Children's Bibles for my nephew, and giving my brother a Bible from Wal-Mart that I bought for about $20, and I have another Bible that was $20 ordered to give to a close friend). One thing for the Dollar Tree Bibles, if you fill out the Presentation page, try to avoid a pen that bleeds like a fountain/calligraphy pen/felt pen/etc... it will bleed through the page, found this out the hard way with one of the Bibles. Other then that they are decent enough Bibles, granted they don't compare in quality to a Bible that would cost $25 or more.

I have noticed that when friends and sometimes co-workers find out that I am an ordained minister they ask me if I have a spare Bible that they could have. I have ended up giving away a couple of the Bibles i have bought when asked if I had a spare one, even though at the time the bible may not have actually been a spare one. Has anyone else ran into this? Also if you are in the US and have a Dollar Tree by you, check them out the one by me has Bibles available with either a black or a white leatherette cover (faux leather), and you can either get a pocket sized Bible with only the New Testament or a larger one with both the Old Testament and New Testament, along with a paperback cover version with the cover in a variety of different colors. I have ended up purchasing a bunch of them (the black and the white leatherette covered ones) to give out if asked. They do have, like a number of Bibles I have had, a presentation page at the front of the Bible so you can put the persons name, who its from (you) and the date you gave it to them. Heres what the ones I bought look like; You can order these online from Dollar Tree, they are $1 each with a minimum of 4 units (4 Bibles) for the order, or you can order them by the case (24 units/Bibles), if you order online the case looks to come with both color covers according to the product description. If you go to the Dollar Tree website and search for item # 187804 or # 187806 you will find the Bibles pictured above.

I am going to go the Easy route and give the text book answer. min·is·ter (mn-str) n. Abbr. Min.1. a. One who is authorized to perform religious functions in a Christian church, especially a Protestant church.b. Roman Catholic Church The superior in certain orders.2. A high officer of state appointed to head an executive or administrative department of government.3. An authorized diplomatic representative of a government, usually ranking next below an ambassador.4. A person serving as an agent for another by carrying out specified orders or functions.v. min·is·tered, min·is·ter·ing, min·is·tersv.intr.1. To attend to the wants and needs of others: Volunteers ministered to the homeless after the flood.2. To perform the functions of a cleric.v.tr.To administer or dispense (a sacrament, for example).[Middle English, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister, servant.]For us we would fall under for the most part 4. A person serving as an agent for another by carrying out specified orders or functions. Since we are agents (representatives) of the Universal Life Church of Modesto, California, and we carry out religious and/or ceremonial functions on behalf of the church. These functions may be holding a regular church service, or just officiating weddings/affirmations of love to performing other ceremonial services such as last rites/baptisms/vow renewals/etc... You cant say we fall under 1a since not all of use are Christian Ministers, I myself an an Agnostic Thesist Minister. Now if you look at the Latin definition of Minister, it is Servant, which is what we are in truth, We are a Servant of God, Allah, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, Gaea, Odin, what ever religious deity you believe in, we also serve the ULC and strive to follow the Church Doctrine and Do that Which is Right. We also serve the general public, performing the duties and services I mentioned previously.