conducting marriage

I am fully in awareness that even though as Clergy we can conduct Marriage, we should still check with our respective County Governments to see what they require in order for any Marriage we conduct to be recognized as legal. What is the general concensus here on Gay Marriage in the Eyes of the Jedi Temple? Taking County Government out of the Equation for a minute, are the Clergy permitted to conduct a Gay Wedding or are we restricted on only to conduct a heterosexual marriage?

Sekhu_Ba_Ra wrote:

I am fully in awareness that even though as Clergy we can conduct Marriage, we should still check with our respective County Governments to see what they require in order for any Marriage we conduct to be recognized as legal. What is the general concensus here on Gay Marriage in the Eyes of the Jedi Temple? Taking County Government out of the Equation for a minute, are the Clergy permitted to conduct a Gay Wedding or are we restricted on only to conduct a heterosexual marriage?

Unlike with most churches, where something like this would be regulated by the organization, at Temple of the Jedi Order something of that nature is regulated by each individual and their personal beliefs. Some may not agree with the concept and therefore may not be willing to do them while others may advocate for them and do them regularly.
The organization itself has no regulations barring any clergy from conducting a Gay Marriage.

We tend to err on the side of Freedom in Most Cases.

~Br. Tom
Servant of the Servants of the Force

Twsoundsoff wrote:

Sekhu_Ba_Ra wrote:

I am fully in awareness that even though as Clergy we can conduct Marriage, we should still check with our respective County Governments to see what they require in order for any Marriage we conduct to be recognized as legal. What is the general concensus here on Gay Marriage in the Eyes of the Jedi Temple? Taking County Government out of the Equation for a minute, are the Clergy permitted to conduct a Gay Wedding or are we restricted on only to conduct a heterosexual marriage?

Unlike with most churches, where something like this would be regulated by the organization, at Temple of the Jedi Order something of that nature is regulated by each individual and their personal beliefs. Some may not agree with the concept and therefore may not be willing to do them while others may advocate for them and do them regularly.
The organization itself has no regulations barring any clergy from conducting a Gay Marriage.

We tend to err on the side of Freedom in Most Cases.

~Br. Tom
Servant of the Servants of the Force

...thats the great thing about this place! The freedom of the spirit of the Force.

Br. Tom, we don't always err on the side of Freedom. I have seen time and again, that we only do so, if it is legal. If thats the case in all those instances, why not now? I personally have no problem with it, but why does this topic lean toward freedom moreso than law? Are there even still states that allow Homosexual Marraige? I was under the impression that they revoked those rights in most states.

DK`

Dhagon Krayt wrote:

Br. Tom, we don't always err on the side of Freedom. I have seen time and again, that we only do so, if it is legal. If thats the case in all those instances, why not now? I personally have no problem with it, but why does this topic lean toward freedom moreso than law? Are there even still states that allow Homosexual Marraige? I was under the impression that they revoked those rights in most states.

DK`

You're right, we don't ALWAYS. Hence the use of the non-definitive \"Tend\". However, he did not ask if we supported the legal issues involved, etc... He asked what our regs were on Gay marriage ceremony. now, I recognize that in most places that would stand as a legal union, but does that make the ceremony any less important to some?
His specific question was : \"are the Clergy permitted to conduct a Gay Wedding or are we restricted on only to conduct a heterosexual marriage?\"
And I answered his question. Whether or not it is legal is a matter for the courts and Governments. Temple of the Jedi Order is Neither For nor Against.

in this case this is a personal issue with the clergy not a regulation thats all. and a lot of the time right usually goes with the law. if you can recall a situation where this temple broke the law let me know.

DAN wrote:

in this case this is a personal issue with the clergy not a regulation thats all. and a lot of the time right usually goes with the law. if you can recall a situation where this temple broke the law let me know.

As a note, it is not illegal to conduct a Gay marriage ceremony. That does not mean the marriage is legal (that would depend on where you are in the world and what the local laws are.) but for many people the ceremony is really a spiritual event.

Just checkin, lol. I said it doesn't bother me, I wanted to make sure we all knew what you meant.

DK

i think the question was \"is it ok with the temple\" and the answer was a yes. in any case legal or not depends on the local laws not us. And least we forget a marriage is always a happy event! congrats to the couple! may the force be with you all!

just out of curiosity is there a \"jedi\" wedding ceremony? i would assume it would follow the regular standards of \"do you? do you? good! kiss\". but is there a jedi tradition?

stevef wrote:

i think the question was \"is it ok with the temple\" and the answer was a yes. in any case legal or not depends on the local laws not us. And least we forget a marriage is always a happy event! congrats to the couple! may the force be with you all!

just out of curiosity is there a \"jedi\" wedding ceremony? i would assume it would follow the regular standards of \"do you? do you? good! kiss\". but is there a jedi tradition?

There is indeed and you can find it in the ceremonies and rituals forum right now. We (and here I mean me as when I asked for volunteers, still asking by the way, no one replied) are putting together all the material we posted into what will be the first Clergy Handbook...