Those living in New Zealand can now marry at the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster since the government recently recognized the organization’s right to officiate wedding ceremonies.
The country’s first ‘Ministeroni’ Karen Martyn, who hails from Wellington, has been certified as one of the marriage celebrants for the religion that suggests the world was created by a spaghetti-and-meatballs-god.
While New Zealand had already approved of the church’s request to solemnize marriages last year on grounds of them upholding or promoting religious beliefs or philosophical humanitarian convictions, only recently were pastafarians granted permission to tie the knot in the name of the organization.
According to Martyn, the church’s wedding ceremonies involve rather unorthodox equipment in place of conventional flowers and champagne.
“We have swords, we have noodles and pasta involved in the ceremony. It's a bit of fun,” she said.
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) expressed its gratitude to New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs for communicating and processing diligently the organization’s application to make Martyn a Ministeroni.
On its Facebook page, the New Zealand chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster states that pastafarianism is a real and legitimate religion that is as true as any other.
“You can make fun of us because we really believe all religions should be subject to scrutiny and to humor. And they should be for the greater good — not something that tears people apart, communities apart, or pits people against each other,” said Martyn.
Any person that chooses to get married at the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster can expect to witness an offbeat event, with the organization’s website stating the event involves a Ministeroni saying certain quirky things as long as those being wed mention their legal names at some point. The website also says that those getting married do not necessarily have to exchange ‘ringatonis’ as they are free to give each other anything that they like. Afterwards, the couple would have to traditionally throw a pasta feast.
According to Martyn, a Ministeroni gains nothing for himself or herself by taking on such a responsibility, as related fees only help cover costs of the wedding ceremony and a negligible donation to the organization.
In 2005, founder Bobby Henderson made public his belief that the world was created by a flying spaghetti monster; also referred to as FSM. Today, pastafarians dress like pirates because they believe that the FSM was responsible for the creation of pirates. They also sport colanders on their heads to mark special occasions. Pastafarianism acquired its mainstream status only a decade ago, with its adherents hitting headlines for winning legal battles that officially allow them to sport colanders in their driving license pictures.
Photo Credits: Patheos
