American Marriage Ministries

American Marriage Ministries is a non-denominational Internet church based in Seattle. The church was founded by Glen Yoshioka in 2009 and ordains and trains people to officiate at weddings. The church is a secular non-denominational organization that does not promote any specific religious ideologies, instead allowing its ministers to define their own practice and faith.[1] This allows ceremonies to be tailored to the beliefs of the couple. The church ordained Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen in 2017. The church had operated entirely online until June 2019, when its ministers began performing in-person ordinations in response to Tennessee passing a law disallowing ministers ordained online from solemnizing weddings in the state. According to Executive Director Lewis King, by June 2017 the church has ordained more than 630,000 people in the United States, including about 13,400 active ministers in Tennessee.[2] The church performed mass ordinations in a number of cities in Tennessee, with the majority of attendees being those who had already been ordained online but need to update their status to comply with the new law.[3]


Officiant Training and State Registration

American Marriage Ministries offers online training tools and guidance available for free for ministers. AMM's Legal Requirements library is a database where ministers can look up state or county requirements. The organization also provides city-specific instructions on how to get ordained and perform marriage. For example, New York City is one of the stricter locations and requires wedding officiants to appear in person at the city clerk’s office to register (the city also charges a $15 fee.) Virginia is the most troublesome state, denying most ministers who get ordained online, but A.M.M. has information on combating that on its website as well.[4]


Charitable Activities

American Marriage Ministries is active in two major areas of civic life -- supporting charities that share its values and beliefs, and defending marriage equality in states where lawmakers attempt to restrict who may or may not perform marriage. AMM has made donations of $500 or more to over 100 Non-Profit Charities across the country.[5] Regarding marriage equality and freedom of religion, AMM is active in New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.[6]


Partnerships And Public Practices

American Marriage Ministries is active in the marriage equality and environmental preservation spaces. In 2018, American Marriage Ministries and the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants (IAPWO) agreed to work together to educate first-time wedding officiants on how to perform wedding ceremonies, and to raise public awareness about the important role that professional wedding officiants play in the special events industry.[7] American Marriage Ministries also partners with Carbon Fund to offset its carbon footprint and promote sustainable practices, especially in the wedding industry.[8] American Marriage Ministries is not affiliated in any way with any other online churches such as the Universal Life Church (ULC) or any brick-and-mortar churches elsewhere in the country.[9]


References
  1. Lohmeyer, Terri L. (2017-02-28). "Become a minister the Stephen Colbert way (on the toilet!?)". Offbeat Bride. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  2. Natanson, Hannah (June 28, 2019). "Tennessee banned Internet ministers from performing weddings. So this online church sent four people on a mad dash across the state". Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  3. Wilusz, Ryan (June 26, 2019). "American Marriage Ministries holds mass ordination in Knoxville in response to new law". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  4. Gordon, Whitson (2018-12-12). "How to Officiate Your First Wedding (and Why You'd Want To)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  5. "Charitable Activities | American Marriage Ministries". theamm.org. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  6. "Tennessee's latest attack on gay marriage takes aim at online ordinations". Scalawag. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  7. "AMM and IAPWO Announce Partnership... | American Weddings". theamm.org. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  8. "American Marriage Ministries". Carbonfund.org. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  9. "About American Marriage Ministries | Online Ordination to Perform Marriage". theamm.org. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
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