How to join the Register of Solemnisers?

CruelCoin · 07-03-2015 12:58PM #1

Hi All,

Having recently being ordained as a Minister within the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Yes, it's a thing), does anyone know how i go about making an application to join the register of solemnisers?

I am trying to become the first Pastafarian licensed to carry out wedding ceremonies in Ireland.

Regards,

CC.

westernlass · 07-03-2015 01:12PM

I think it's about the organisation being approved not individuals

MistyCheese · 07-03-2015 01:24PM

As far as I'm aware there is currently an embargo on any new Public Servants, which a solemniser would fall under.

westernlass · 07-03-2015 01:34PM

That's just for civil ceremonies. Humanists are self employed so would be the same set up

MistyCheese · 07-03-2015 01:36PM

Okay, thanks I wasn't entirely sure.

Milly33 · 07-03-2015 02:07PM

Oh great well done to you... don't have a clue though how you go about it, but rem to come back and tell us if you do

PhoenixParker · 07-03-2015 02:24PM

You have to be a member of an approved organisation who nominates you, or in your case you'd have to get the organisation approved.

Whether you'd go the religious body route or the secular body route for approval I don't know. I suspect it's easier to go the religious body route since the only requirement seems to be:

“religious body” means an organised group of people members of which meet regularly for common religious worship.

Can you prove that? It's pretty vague, but you'd need an ongoing organised group of members not sure if religious bodies need to be registered somehow here.

Getting a secular organisation approved is covered by the Civil Registration Amendment Act 1012

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2012/en/act/pub/0048/sec0003.html#sec3

“Secular body

45A. (1) For the purposes of this Part, a body shall, subject to subsection (2), be a secular body if it is an organised group of people and—

(a) it has not fewer than 50 members,

(b) its principal objects are secular, ethical and humanist,

(c) members of the body meet regularly in relation to their beliefs and in furtherance of the objects referred to in paragraph (b),

(d) it does not have any rules regarding marriage or the solemnisation of marriages that contravene the requirements of this Act or any other enactment or rule of law,

(e) it is shown to the satisfaction of an tArd-Chláraitheoir to be a body that has appropriate procedures in writing for selecting, training and accrediting members as fit and proper persons to solemnise marriages,

(f) it is a body that, on the date of its making of an application under section 54 or 57, has been in existence for a continuous period of not less than 5 years,
(i) that is entitled to an exemption under section 207 or 208 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , and was so entitled for a continuous period of not less than five years immediately preceding the date of the body's most recent application under section 54 or 57, and

(ii) in respect of which—

(I) a number (commonly referred to as a CHY number) stands issued by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of that exemption, and

(II) that number stood issued for a continuous period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding the date of its most recent application under section 54 or 57,

(h) it is a body that does not have the making of profit as one of its principal objects, and

(i) it maintains a register of its members.

organisation membership of which is unlawful.”.

There are more rules but you can see how exclusionary they make it. Minimum of 50 people with a specific tax designation, in existence over a long period and not for profit.

To find out more this is probably the best description of who you need to contact:

Anyone solemnising a marriage after 5th November 2007 must ensure that he or she is on the Register of Solemnisers. All solemnisers must be 18 years or over and must be nominated by the religious body or the secular body on whose behalf they will be solemnising marriages. Nominations must be made by the relevant authorities in each religious body or secular body, not by the solemnisers themselves. Each nomination must be approved by an tArd-Chláraitheoir, the Registrar-General. Letters confirming registration will be issued to all registered solemnisers. If you have any queries regarding your registration status you should contact the GRO Marriages Unit, Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon, phone 090-6632945/7/9 or 6632970, website www.groireland.ie.

tinkerbell · 07-03-2015 04:04PM

Church of the flying spaghetti monster? WTF?

lazygal · 07-03-2015 06:12PM

tinkerbell wrote: »

Church of the flying spaghetti monster? WTF?

Blasphemy!

westernlass · 07-03-2015 07:56PM

How many members are there in Ireland at the moment?

tinkerbell · 07-03-2015 09:12PM

lazygal wrote: »

Blasphemy!

It was a serious question!!! :pac:

Milly33 · 07-03-2015 10:00PM

It is blasphemy if you believe in how the church works (note I did not say god) and it also goes to prove if you do not, side with the church how daft they way they run it is...

tinkerbell · 07-03-2015 10:35PM

Milly33 wrote: »

It is blasphemy if you believe in how the church works (note I did not say god) and it also goes to prove if you do not, side with the church how daft they way they run it is...

Huh?

keeponhurling · 07-03-2015 10:38PM

tinkerbell wrote: »

Church of the flying spaghetti monster? WTF?

That would be an ecumenical matter

tinkerbell · 07-03-2015 10:39PM

I just looked it up and apparently it is a church! I seriously thought the OP was joking. You learn something new every day!

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarian), a movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools.[3] Although adherents describe Pastafarianism as a genuine religion,[3] it is generally seen by the media as a parody religion.[4][5]

The "Flying Spaghetti Monster" was first described in a satirical open letter written by Bobby Henderson in 2005 to protest the Kansas State Board of Education decision to permit teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public school science classes.[6] In that letter, Henderson satirized creationism by professing his belief that whenever a scientist carbon-dates an object, a supernatural creator that closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs is there "changing the results with His Noodly Appendage". Henderson argued that his beliefs were just as valid as intelligent design, and called for equal time in science classrooms alongside intelligent design and evolution.[7] After Henderson published the letter on his website, the Flying Spaghetti Monster rapidly became an Internet phenomenon and a symbol of opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools.[8]

Milly33 · 07-03-2015 10:40PM

Yep it is indeed a nice relaxed view of things

keeponhurling · 07-03-2015 10:42PM

tinkerbell wrote: »

I just looked it up and apparently it is a church! I seriously thought the OP was joking. You learn something new every day!

The atheists will be along soon, I suspect they'll pick a few holes in that belief system

Flying Spaghetti Monster indeed

Malari · 08-03-2015 09:06AM

keeponhurling wrote: »

The atheists will be along soon, I suspect they'll pick a few holes in that belief system

Flying Spaghetti Monster indeed

Lol! I love satire.

CruelCoin · 08-03-2015 03:04PM

tinkerbell wrote: »

It was a serious question!!! :pac:

Serious answer then: It was created by Bobby Henderson in the USA a a protest against the teaching of creationism as science in the classroom, which of course it is not, being dogma.....

Idea being that, i cannot disprove yours, you cannot disprove mine, therefore both should be given equal time in the classroom. Or failing that you could actually just give all the time in science class to teaching actual science.

Edit: Didn't read past your post, saw that you found it!

The faith is gaining ground; there are now numerous examples of people with pasta colanders on their heads in drivers license photos and state id cards, being worn as religious headgear. And in several countries it is now a recognised religion. http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/flyingspaghettimonster/images/0/0c/Fsmof.png/revision/latest?cb=20120618162637

CruelCoin · 08-03-2015 03:05PM

keeponhurling wrote: »

The atheists will be along soon, I suspect they'll pick a few holes in that belief system

Flying Spaghetti Monster indeed

It was actually created by an aetheist.

prettygurrly · 08-03-2015 03:06PM

But the big question is, will I be able to be married by someone ordained in this "religion"...please!

CruelCoin · 08-03-2015 03:16PM

PhoenixParker wrote: »

"epic detailed post"

Cheers dude! Much appreciated,

CruelCoin · 08-03-2015 03:17PM

prettygurrly wrote: »

But the big question is, will I be able to be married by someone ordained in this "religion"...please!

Nobody on the register yet.

I am going to try organise some "sermons" aka piss-ups in a italian eatery, and i'll take it from there. Will keep you posted.

CruelCoin · 08-03-2015 03:18PM

keeponhurling wrote: »

The atheists will be along soon, I suspect they'll pick a few holes in that belief system

Flying Spaghetti Monster indeed

Cosmic jewish zombie indeed.

Any argument given to poke holes can be flipped round to any other religion.

Gatica · 09-03-2015 10:54AM

yep, it's a thing... There was a driving licence picture circulating that had the photo of the guy wearing a spaghetti strainer on his head because he claimed it was religious head-gear (FSM/Pastafarian...).
Great idea for use of your religious status though! I'm sure plenty of people would book OP for wedding ceremonies!

Milly33 · 09-03-2015 11:01AM

I remember seeing one of the pictures I think it is a kids drawing.. I hope you get somewhere with it Cruelcoin

PhoenixParker · 09-03-2015 11:10AM

CruelCoin wrote: »

Cheers dude! Much appreciated,

I'm actually really interested in this. The situation with regard to registrars/solemnisers in this country is a bit of a bugbear of mine. There are thousands of individuals on the registrar including random priests who work in Africa who have been added so they can marry relatives. However if you exclude the solemnisers associated with major religions you're left with 16 - 20 humanists & spiritualists and the registrars who only work Monday - Friday.

The humanists are great, but there are so few of them and while more are in training, I don't really feel they'll ever be able to meet demand. We need a real alternative. I have a few ideas in my head, toastmasters being one and commissioners for oaths being another, but a group like the pastafarians could really break the shortage and quickly.

If I were you, I'd forget about the worship services for a little bit. Write a nice letter to the register general along the lines of

Dear Register General,

I am a member of a small independent religious body, with a group of practising members in Dublin and several more distributed around the country. A number of our members have expressed an interest in having their marriages solemnised by a member of our church.

Since we are not affiliated with any of the major organised religious bodies in Ireland (e.g. the catholic church), can you advise on the process of becoming a registered religious body capable of nominating solemnisers in accordance with the Civil Registration Acts?

Then base your plan of action on meeting exactly the stipulations he lays down.

CruelCoin · 09-03-2015 12:13PM

I have sent an e-mail to Bobby Henderson, the founder and prophet of the church.

He seems to be very johnny on the money in his replies, so will report what he comes back with.

Redacted contents below:

Good morning Bobby,

My name is xxxx xxxxx, recently ordained minister, and both my brother and I were wondering how to go about joining the registrar of solemnisers (i think he e-mailed you last week? xxxx xxxxx is his name).

I have found the procedure and stipulations for doing so in Ireland, but i need some statistical evidence with which to back up my application (first need to have pastafarianism registered as a religion, then we can nominate solemnisers, but i need to able to prove at least 50 members first).

Could you please let me know how many people are a member of the church in the Republic of Ireland, how many are ordained, etc. Anything even remotely official looking would help hugely here.

Out of the thousands of solemnisers registered in Ireland, there are only 16-20 humanists, and i feel that pastafarianism can fill the huge gap in demand here.

Many thanks in advance Bobby, any help is very much appreciated.

Kind regards,

xxxx xxxxxx.

keeponhurling · 09-03-2015 01:52PM

CruelCoin wrote: »

It was actually created by an aetheist.

Seems like a paradox to me.
So do they believe in a Flying Spaghetti Monster or not ?

PhoenixParker · 09-03-2015 01:56PM

keeponhurling wrote: »

Seems like a paradox to me.
So do they believe in a Flying Spaghetti Monster or not ?

Belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster isn't a necessary condition for being a member of the religion. This is a pretty good summary: http://www.venganza.org/about/

CruelCoin · 09-03-2015 04:27PM

keeponhurling wrote: »

Seems like a paradox to me.
So do they believe in a Flying Spaghetti Monster or not ?

Like any other religion, you have people that do and those that don't. Take christianity for example, where you have droves of people who attend the ceremonies, say that words, etc without believing them, and who are just in for the social acceptance side of it. Like wise with pastafarians.

Those that do believe, do yes believe that the world was created by a flying spaghetti monster.

Our traditional dress is full pirate regalia, heaven is a beer volcano and a stripper factory. Hell is much the same except the beer is stale and the strippers have venereal diseases. Midgets are blessed as they receive more noodly touching, and therefore more downwards pressure.
We do not have 10 commandments, as thats a bit bossy, and instead we have the "8 i really rather you wouldn'ts". We have a bible, prayers, religious holidays, and pretty everything else that denotes a religion these days.

How to join the Register of Solemnisers?

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