Did you know, in addition to being a husband, father, writer, music teacher, online college student, luthier of jugband instruments, and classic car enthusiast, I am also an ordained minister?
I received my ordination through the Universal Life Church Monastery in 2010. You can learn more about the church here: https://www.themonastery.org/aboutUs . A variety of celebrities are also ULC ministers, including late night talk show hosts, famous authors, and all four of the Beatles. A partial list can be found here: https://www.universallifechurchministers.org/
Like most of the 20 million people who have been ordained by the ULC, or in my case the ULC Monastery (an offshoot of the original ULC), I wanted to be able to perform wedding ceremonies for friends. So far, I have officiated twenty weddings for friends and friends of friends. I've also had the honor of legally uniting three same-sex couples and two mixed-race couples as well.
My ministry is more than just weddings, however. I believe my true calling is my ability to bring joy to the world. Through writing, teaching, making music, and performing the occasional wedding, I try to bring people a little happiness. Last week, there was a lot of happiness happening in Mister Naughton's Neighborhood.
Last Tuesday, my second graders at Southern Boone Primary School performed the music of my hero Mister Rogers, himself an ordained minister and mentor to children. Both performances were well received by the parents, grandparents, and teachers in attendance. As proud of the kids as their families no doubt were, no one was more proud of them than I was.
Singing songs about accepting and loving people exactly as they are, 150 second graders spread Fred Rogers' message that each of us is special and deserving of love. I had tears in my eyes more than once as I watched my students perform the songs they had worked hard to learn over the last two months.
Tears of pure joy.
While it is true that I am an atheist, meaning that I do not believe in any god or holy spirit, I do believe in the power of the human spirit. Last Tuesday, I witnessed that spirit in the eyes and voices of my students as they sang life-affirming songs including "Many Ways to Say I Love You": https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=DqSBqfDgOsQ&feature=emb_logo
and "It's You I like": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BZlyxS37Kk&t=7s . I highly recommend clicking on the links to see the power of the originals for yourself.
With the second grade concerts behind me, I now turn my focus toward preparing for next month's kindergarten holiday concerts. You can rest assured that Mister Naughton will be doing his level best to bring even more joy to the world that day.
It is never my intention to brag about the good I do for others. I only hope to inspire you to do good deeds and spread joy as well. That's a minister's job, I think.
With that thought in mind, I would like to encourage you to consider adoption if you’re thinking about adding to your family. November is National Adoption Month, and also the month in which Bethany and I adopted our son Truman 11 years ago. A couple years later, we adopted our daughter Tiana, completing our goofy, loving family. There are many more kids out there waiting for a family right now.
What will you do to spread some joy today?
