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The following downloadable documents are meant to help Universal Life Church ministers with issues related to religious law or the legal status of their ordination or by educating them on pragmatic topics concerning the things ULC ministers do with their ordinations (perform wedding, funeral and baptismal ceremonies, start their own ministries and work as chaplains).
These downloads are PDFs, meaning that you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them on your computer. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader if you do not already have it.
Universal Life Church ministers occasionally start their own churches in order to lead a congregation, create bible study groups and form a religious nuclei within their communities. To help our ministers launch their own ministries, the ULC has put together a small yet helpful collection of documents that will make their workload just a little bit lighter. Please note that additional educational materials and paperwork will need to be gathered and filed; the forms contained within this PDF are not all that a Universal Life Church minister needs to start a church.
This PDF contains samples of the following kinds of documents:
Articles of Incorporation
Church By-Laws
Conflict of Interest Policy
Click here to download the Ministry Launch Forms Packet
Note: do not assume that these documents are legally-binding or exactly what you need to start a church. Always make sure to clear the accuracy and validity of these documents, and all other documents the ULC issues, with government officials or a lawyer. These documents do not constitute legal counsel or advice on the part of the Universal Life Church Monastery.
Legal name changes quickly follow most marriages, and it is always a kind gesture for the person who solemnizes a marriage to help out with the headache-inducing process of making them. To assist ULC wedding officiants with aiding newlyweds whose weddings they have performed, the Universal Life Church Monastery has created a concise yet helpful name change guide; our ministers should feel free to download and forward this guide as frequently as they perform weddings.
Click here to download the ULC Name Change Guide.
Please send the ULC any materials that you find or prepare yourself that would be beneficial and relevant additions to this guide.
There are a number of tasks that couples must complete after they marry in addition to making legal name changes; some of these tasks are things that ULC ministers can help with. Let us know if any of your couples have requested assistance with any of these pragmatic topics and the Universal Life Church Monastery will gladly prepare guides for them.
Most employers in the United States understand that they cannot discriminate against their employees on the basis of religion. For example, they cannot give one religious individual a day off during a day of worship while denying another religious individual the right to take time off during a different holiday. However, there is one notable Read More
According to the Pew Research Center, 4% of Americans identify as Atheists, and almost 30% are religiously unaffiliated. The word “atheist” is often used alongside the names of religions, such as Christianity and Judaism. But is it a “religion” in the same way as these faiths? Or is it the absence of religion? Is the Read More
The Church of Latter-Day Saints, also known simply as the LDS Church, has some of the most interesting teachings of any religion. These teachings are now coming under scrutiny in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as former members pursue legal action for allegedly illegal “tithes.” Their latest strategy is to accuse the LDS Read More
In April of 2024, Florida gave school districts the right to create their own volunteer school chaplain programs. This is part of Florida HB 931, a broad bill aimed at improving student mental health. One aspect of this overall plan is the widespread implementation of chaplains. However, this is not mandatory for school districts. Despite Read More
Various religious organizations depend on their tax-exempt status, and many Churches in the United States would not be able to function without this financial advantage. However, this advantage comes at a cost – and tax-exempt organizations must surrender certain rights. One of the most notable downsides of tax-exempt status is outlined by the “Johnson Amendment” Read More