Hi all,
I live in and practice for the most part in Illinois. I was asked to perform a wedding in Wisconsin but by their (Wisconsin) laws I need to have a "Letter of Sponsorship" (see below for exact wording)

"Nonresident officiating person; sponsorship. Any member of the clergy, licentiate or appointee named in s. 765.16 who is not a resident of this state may solemnize marriages in this state if he or she possesses at the time of the marriage a letter of sponsorship from a member of the clergy of the same religious denomination or society who has a church in this state under his or her ministry."

Has anyone run into this before and if so, how do I go about getting such a letter.

Thanks for any advice,
Rodd

[quote name='rwinscott' date='Aug 7 2009, 08:59 AM' post='21551']

"Nonresident officiating person; sponsorship. Any member of the clergy, licentiate or appointee named in s. 765.16 who is not a resident of this state may solemnize marriages in this state if he or she possesses at the time of the marriage a letter of sponsorship from a member of the clergy of the same religious denomination or society.....

"who has a church in this state under his or her ministry."



Hi rwinscott and welcome to the Forum. I think the emboldened words above are the key. If you go to the blue bar just below the logo of the ULC on the right it says "members". Click on that bar word and you will have the option of selecting ministers from Wisconsin or any state, who are members on this site. From one of them you can get a letter of sponsorship, or it is possible to get a letter from the administration. I believe "Padre" is from Wisconsin and is a moderator on this forum. Good luck and I hope this helped....God's Peace....To`na Wanagi

Given that the ULCM is recognized in all 50 States, you can either check the "members" area to find a local ULC Minister or if you are shy and don't feel comfortable reaching out to another ULC locally, call their contact number 206-285-1086 and ask about a sponsorship letter or some other endorsement such as the letter of good standing.

Wisconsin requiring any additional information would be discriminatory under the First Amendment. If they hassle you, report it to the ULCM Admin.


Good Luck on your wedding!!

Rev. Morrison