I find myself in the uncomfortable position of being in virtually total agreement with the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in its suit against a judge who ruled that marriages are invalid “if presided over by a minister who does not regularly serve a church or preach in a physical house of worship.”
As a minister who does “regularly serve a church” and “preach in a physical house of worship,” I disagree vehemently with the judge’s ruling. If the separation of church and state means anything, it means that the state (in this case a court) has no authority or power to decide which ministers are “kosher” and which ones are not. That authority is reserved solely for the denominational group that is ordaining or authorizing a person to officiate at religious marriage ceremonies. Surely this falls under the category of “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion in our glorious First Amendment.