His Happiness, the Good Revved Dr. P. R. Gunter
My background of involvement as a minister in a denominational movement began in 1969 with my ordination in the Universal Life Church under leadership of Kirby Hensley. Like Hensley, I learned later, I had grown disappointed with my religious life and affiliation and sought some relief; and comic relief was good enough for me. As I remember there was somewhere in ULC's official wordings the statement "It's all funny until you believe." I was also affiliated with some other fine groups. The Unitarians have a solid if not funny church with no burdensome doctrines. The Buddhists may be the most reasonable of all. The Hindus were broad, open and flexible.
There were also some not so reasonable groups for me. The Presbyterian--founded by John Calvin who had no humor and would burn you at the stake in a skinny minute. Lutheran--founded by Martin Luther a real tight ass, quite literally. Episcopalian--where do I begin--with Henry VIII? Baptist--boy could they have used a drink. Methodist--I didn't see a much different method than the Baptists. Quakers--a quiet bunch. Roman Catholics--really celibacy and weird birth control? And they started and perpetuated much of this mess we have. Orthodox Catholics--they sound so nice but surely they burned somebody and also there are no super-titles in the services. Latter Day Saints--whatever they are they are gold plated. Pentecostal---I couldn't understand what they were saying. Unity--touchy-feely, but not so grounded at times. Christian Science--I kept looking for the science part. Non-Denominational--follow the money. Scientology--maybe it was founded by an Alien.
In those days nearly 50 years ago my ministry was limited to blessing the beer at parties, occasional memorial services for anatomy cadavers, and prayer services to aid my fellow students pass their tests. The parties were successful and all students graduated and no cadavers complained.
Kirby was an illiterate, self taught eccentric who left every minister alone to pursue their own path and had no rigid, onerous doctrinal requirement. I had grown up in churches and felt relaxed in them, I noticed, until dogma arrived. And dogma invariably arrived brought by serious minded, educated, well meaning people--clergy and lay. Hensley's approach was refreshing and thumb in the eye of those who used degrees to bash everyone with doctrines or beliefs as well as to those not so well educated who just took what they had always heard with no questioning.
Hensley contended all was legal and all ministers were fully qualified for their ministerial duties. I certainly had no one question my roll in those days. However I never had any brick and mortar church and never got into tax issues or funds. In the early 1970's I became an apostate and eventually lost track of the ULC. About that time too I learned the ULC was having IRS problems with charges of tax evasion. This was my time to explore all those other groups.
But I continued holding forth as a ULC minister. At times I would bring out my ordination card and humorously tell my story through the years. It was usually a a time when someone needed a little religious humor. A good laugh goes a long way.
Fast forward to the late 1990's. A friend who had been one of those in need of the humor when he was being defrocked from his church due to his liberal beliefs asked me to perform his wedding. This took my ministry to a new level. I had to officially register in his county as a "minister of the Gospel." And of course I had a Gospel to share!
Weddings beget weddings so another ensued. But weddings are not my real interest. I'm more interested in what people believe, the meaning of beliefs and why we believe what we believe. This I hope will be the focus of this blog. We shall see!
With my friends' wedding I returned to the ULC and after a rigorous exam became a Doctor of Metaphysics so I could understand anything and everything. More importantly I patted myself on the back (a form of laying on of hands) and became a Bishop, a recognition of my 30 years plus as ordained minister with the ULC. By the way, I was not ordained by this current fad of on-line ordinations. I did it by the old fad of snail mail--envelop and stamp. Ordination papers then were really sealed certificates, not these printed out versions--which are just as legal.
And the ministry continues with support for the orthodox challenged, the eccentric or free thinker, and those in need of a laugh.
The following link provides an interesting sweeping history of the Universal Life Church--although I can't vouch for it's accuracy. Some see Hensley as a complete fraud or con artist and others see him a religious seeker. I'm thinking about making him a saint. Saint Kirby! But I'm having a little trouble. I don't know any miracle he performed. I haven't heard of anyone healed by him. But there is the story that he liked to say the ULC was the only church ever declared a legal church by the U.S. Court System and so acknowledged by the IRS. Maybe that's enough.
http://califias.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-universal-life-church.html
My background of involvement as a minister in a denominational movement began in 1969 with my ordination in the Universal Life Church under leadership of Kirby Hensley. Like Hensley, I learned later, I had grown disappointed with my religious life and affiliation and sought some relief; and comic relief was good enough for me. As I remember there was somewhere in ULC's official wordings the statement "It's all funny until you believe." I was also affiliated with some other fine groups. The Unitarians have a solid if not funny church with no burdensome doctrines. The Buddhists may be the most reasonable of all. The Hindus were broad, open and flexible.
There were also some not so reasonable groups for me. The Presbyterian--founded by John Calvin who had no humor and would burn you at the stake in a skinny minute. Lutheran--founded by Martin Luther a real tight ass, quite literally. Episcopalian--where do I begin--with Henry VIII? Baptist--boy could they have used a drink. Methodist--I didn't see a much different method than the Baptists. Quakers--a quiet bunch. Roman Catholics--really celibacy and weird birth control? And they started and perpetuated much of this mess we have. Orthodox Catholics--they sound so nice but surely they burned somebody and also there are no super-titles in the services. Latter Day Saints--whatever they are they are gold plated. Pentecostal---I couldn't understand what they were saying. Unity--touchy-feely, but not so grounded at times. Christian Science--I kept looking for the science part. Non-Denominational--follow the money. Scientology--maybe it was founded by an Alien.
In those days nearly 50 years ago my ministry was limited to blessing the beer at parties, occasional memorial services for anatomy cadavers, and prayer services to aid my fellow students pass their tests. The parties were successful and all students graduated and no cadavers complained.
Kirby was an illiterate, self taught eccentric who left every minister alone to pursue their own path and had no rigid, onerous doctrinal requirement. I had grown up in churches and felt relaxed in them, I noticed, until dogma arrived. And dogma invariably arrived brought by serious minded, educated, well meaning people--clergy and lay. Hensley's approach was refreshing and thumb in the eye of those who used degrees to bash everyone with doctrines or beliefs as well as to those not so well educated who just took what they had always heard with no questioning.
Hensley contended all was legal and all ministers were fully qualified for their ministerial duties. I certainly had no one question my roll in those days. However I never had any brick and mortar church and never got into tax issues or funds. In the early 1970's I became an apostate and eventually lost track of the ULC. About that time too I learned the ULC was having IRS problems with charges of tax evasion. This was my time to explore all those other groups.
But I continued holding forth as a ULC minister. At times I would bring out my ordination card and humorously tell my story through the years. It was usually a a time when someone needed a little religious humor. A good laugh goes a long way.
Fast forward to the late 1990's. A friend who had been one of those in need of the humor when he was being defrocked from his church due to his liberal beliefs asked me to perform his wedding. This took my ministry to a new level. I had to officially register in his county as a "minister of the Gospel." And of course I had a Gospel to share!
Weddings beget weddings so another ensued. But weddings are not my real interest. I'm more interested in what people believe, the meaning of beliefs and why we believe what we believe. This I hope will be the focus of this blog. We shall see!
With my friends' wedding I returned to the ULC and after a rigorous exam became a Doctor of Metaphysics so I could understand anything and everything. More importantly I patted myself on the back (a form of laying on of hands) and became a Bishop, a recognition of my 30 years plus as ordained minister with the ULC. By the way, I was not ordained by this current fad of on-line ordinations. I did it by the old fad of snail mail--envelop and stamp. Ordination papers then were really sealed certificates, not these printed out versions--which are just as legal.
And the ministry continues with support for the orthodox challenged, the eccentric or free thinker, and those in need of a laugh.
The following link provides an interesting sweeping history of the Universal Life Church--although I can't vouch for it's accuracy. Some see Hensley as a complete fraud or con artist and others see him a religious seeker. I'm thinking about making him a saint. Saint Kirby! But I'm having a little trouble. I don't know any miracle he performed. I haven't heard of anyone healed by him. But there is the story that he liked to say the ULC was the only church ever declared a legal church by the U.S. Court System and so acknowledged by the IRS. Maybe that's enough.
http://califias.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-universal-life-church.html
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