Reverend Quinn Bradlee

A little secret of mine is that I have always been kind of interested in the church and have wanted to become an ordained minister; so when I found the Universal Life Church and saw that you could become ordained online I immediately jumped on the opportunity. I wanted to become ordained because I am a descendant of a lot of ministers and deacons on my dad’s side, and on my mom’s side my third great-grandfather was The Rev. John Quinn, as was his father and his father. However recently I have been wondering if I am really legally ordained and started to do some research. I have always heard about the First Amendment, but I never knew exactly what it specifically said: Congress shall make no law in respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress grievances.”

By these standards I am legally ordained online. What’s funny, sad and not fair at the same time is that some people laugh at becoming ordained online, but people are going to make fun of the Mormon Church or even Christianity itself. Some people still think that it’s okay to join a church where they don’t want women to be ordained or queer people to be included. This is why I joined the Universal Life Church because they believe that all people are equal and all people should be ordained if they would like to be. People of all walks of life and of all colors have joined this wonderful church and some have even started their own churches. “The Universal Life Church was founded on the basic belief that we are all children of the same universe and, derived from the basic belief, has established two core tenets by which it expects its ministers to conduct themselves, 1: Do only that which is right, 2: Every individual is free to practice their religion in the manner of their choosing, as mandated by the First Amendment, so long as that expression does not impinge upon the rights or freedoms of others and in accordance with the government laws.”

The ten Commandments in order are, 1: You shall have no other God before me, 2: You shall not make idols, 3: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, 4: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, 5: Honor your father and your mother, 6: you shall not murder, 7: You shall not commit adultery, 8: You shall not steal, 9: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, 10: You shall not covet. Now there are a couple of things that are hypocritical of these Ten Commandments. For example, the one commandment that I never really comprehended was, “You shall not murder.” If we actually lived by these commandments, then there would be no wars or violence between people. We should all be equal no matter how different we are born, and in God’s eyes we are “all of his children,” therefore we should be all equal. That is why I like The Universal Life Church. I believe God is a greater being that helped create the planet and wants all of us - no matter our differences - to thrive here.