Wedding Bells Marriage Services

07/21/2025

Last month I had the delightful honor of ordaining the wedding of Seth & Heidi Haskins
Congratulations to the both of you once again with wishes of a happy marriage for years to come.

07/07/2025

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06/17/2025

A very cute Star Wars themed wedding. Thank you to Alberto & Jessica Rosales for allowing me the pleasure of being a part of your special day.

05/03/2025

A United States Black Hawk pilot currently being investigated for drug trafficking says he’s facing religious persecution for selling and using L*D as sacrament.

By day, Kyle Norton Riester served as first lieutenant with the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. By night, he shipped orders of L*D on the dark web.

Facing serious drug charges from federal prosecutors, Riester recently asked for injunctive relief, arguing that he has every right to dispense “sacrament-grade L*D” to his “co-religionists” under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Riester says his use of L*D is a religious exercise, “deeply religious and mystical in nature” which allows him “direct communion with his creator.”

But prosecutors say Riester is simply a drug trafficker who sold drugs to the highest bidder, regardless of their beliefs.

Is this a legitimate case of religious persecution by the federal government against a minority faith, or an attempt to use the trippiest “get out of jail free” card ever?

Sacrament-Grade L*D

Should Riester’s religious freedom argument fail, he could be facing significant jail time. Prosecutors say he shipped some 1,800 L*D orders over the dark web, netting him $122,000 over 11 months. Alleged buyers include undercover police officers as well as a 15-year-old.

Prosecutors say Riester’s religious freedom argument falls apart because he used the dark web to facilitate sales. The dark web is a hidden side of the internet not accessible without specific software often used for illegal, anonymous activities like drug sales. Prosecutors say that given the anonymous nature of the dark web, Riester was by definition not able to vet the religious beliefs of his buyers.

As the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia stated in a court filing, Riester “did not sell L*D in the context of a religious gathering or ritual, or to people with whom he shared spiritual experiences; he sold L*D on the dark web, a forum designed to ensure the anonymity of its users.”

Religious Persecution?

Riester says this is nothing less than persecution against a minority faith. To stop his use and sale of L*D sacrament now, he says, would cause him to "suffer irreparable harm to his conscience and religious identity."

Riester’s attorney George Lake argues his consumption of L*D is a necessary part of his “spiritual journey.” What began with mushrooms and ayahuasca, Lake says, “naturally evolved for him into L*D, [which] he found was his preferred and best method for communion with his conception of God.”

Riester began consuming L*D with his fellow faith practitioners in person, but took things online during the COVID-19 quarantine. As court filings read, Riester “adapted” during a time of “desperate need,” feeling "a moral and religious obligation to provide his co-religionists with Sacrament should they be unable to acquire Sacrament-grade L*D safely and securely.”

Riester says the operation went digital only because he was doing his part to closely follow COVID safety guidelines. In May 2024, when he was certain he didn’t need to follow COVID-era social distancing rules any longer, Riester voluntarily deleted his dark web account and ceased all online sales.

Will It Work?

From mushroom churches to w**d churches and beyond, controlled substances have long been legally claimed as religious sacrament. And these churches often successfully defend their sacrament in courts, pointing to ancient traditions of Indigenous faiths using these psychedelic substances in religious rituals dating back millennia.

But is Riester’s faith sincere? Prosecutors say no, arguing that Riester only claimed he’s facing religious persecution some eight months after learning about the federal investigation against him.

And yet, Riester says his L*D sacrament is as sincere as it gets. He used it as part of “spiritual transformation and religious revelation,” court documents say,” to “promote safety, reflection, and shared religious experience."

To deny him the right to use and sell L*D, he says, is blatant religious discrimination by an overzealous federal government.

What do you think? Is Riester’s faith sincere, or is his religious freedom argument a legal hail mary? And should the government even have the right to say what is and is not legitimate religious sacrament?

Credit: Universal Life Church

03/03/2025

Gearing up to be a busy Spring & Summer Wedding Season!

12/18/2024

I was just recently asked, Should I Sign a Prenuptial Agreement?

It is common for engaged couples to hesitate before signing a Prenuptial Agreement.

Many people believe simply having a Prenuptial Agreement, or prenup, implies they are planning on a divorce at the same time they're planning a wedding. But that does not have to be the case. A Prenuptial Agreement can protect both spouses financially in case of divorce, disability, or death.

Being financially responsible is important for everyone. A Prenuptial Agreement can help protect each spouse’s current assets and ensure both spouses remain responsible for any debts they brought into the relationship. If either partner has children from a prior relationship, a Prenuptial Agreement can help ensure their financial stability as well.

Prenuptial Agreements can benefit both partners, and be helpful in the event a marriage does end in divorce. It's far easier to negotiate a financial arrangement that is fair while you're communicating well, rather than after being served divorce papers.

What happens if I don't sign a prenup?

When couples do not sign a prenup, then state law decides what happens when they divorce. For couples who live in states that adhere to community property laws, this means that most assets or liabilities accumulated during the marriage would be divided equally between the parties. However, individuals are able to keep the assets they brought into the marriage and kept separate.

In states that don't follow community property principles, splitting assets normally follows a process called equitable distribution. In these states, multiple factors are taken into consideration to ensure property is distributed in a fair way during a divorce.

Either way, it is helpful to have a Prenuptial Agreement that sets forth a fair plan if you do divorce, and allows you to retain specific property for family heirs or favored charities.

What should you be aware of when signing a premarital agreement?

Prenuptial Agreements, also called premarital agreements, are deeply personal documents, and they are legally binding. It is important to understand what is agreed to in a prenup. Make sure your Prenuptial Agreement specifically explains what you and your future spouse have agreed on.

Since a prenup is a legally binding contract, review it carefully before signing to make sure it is consistent with your understanding of the agreement. It is also important to have the agreement reviewed by a Legal Pro to ensure it serves your best interests and does not have clauses that violate state laws. This also gives you an opportunity to ask about any words, phrases, or sections that you do not understand.

When is it too late to sign a prenup?

It is too late to sign a prenup once you are legally married. After that, any written financial agreement that you enter into with your spouse would be called a Postnuptial Agreement.

Oftentimes, couples avoid discussing money prior to marriage, and they may feel a Prenuptial Agreement is an omen that their marriage may fail. A properly crafted prenup, however, can protect both partners and can save hours of needless stress later in the event of divorce, disability, or death. Prenups are also created while couples are on good terms, which means that they may be more empathetic and understanding of their partner’s needs.

Remember, prenups cannot be verbal agreements. It must be in writing and signed. Waiting until the last minute can add stress to the process. So, allow sufficient time for making changes, reviewing the document with a lawyer, gathering signatures, and having documents notarized, if required.

Whether you draft a prenup before your wedding or a Postnuptial Agreement soon after, it is always a good idea to contact a lawyer if you have any questions before you sign it.

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12/03/2024

The Texas Board of Education just narrowly voted 8-7 to teach the Holy Bible in elementary schools across the state - and everything from the Sermon on the Mount to the story of Moses to passages from the Book of Genesis are in the recently approved lesson plans and coursework.

The vote set off a firestorm of controversy all across the state, with critics swarming school board meetings and decrying the new lesson plans as thinly-veiled proselytizing, but advocates argue that a thorough understanding of Christian theology is necessary to understand the history and legal framework of the United States.

Did public school just get one step closer to Sunday school?

Education or Indoctrination?

The state-developed curriculum was the subject of much scrutiny and debate for months ahead of its November 22 passage. Scores of parents and the state’s largest teacher’s union both objected to the Bible-based curriculum, which will inject Christianity into thousands of classrooms across the state and be taught to children as young as five years old.

Advocates of the curriculum say that the history of this country and the Christian faith are inextricably intertwined, and that a thorough understanding of Christian theology is necessary to understand the legal framework the United States was built upon.

"The [religious] materials will… allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a proponent of the new faith-based education standards.

But critics say that inserting Jesus into the classroom is just Christian nationalism barely masquerading as education.

"The curriculum targets the youngest, most impressionable elementary students, starting by introducing kindergartners to Jesus," argued Freedom From Religion Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "Religious instruction is the purview of parents, not proselytizing school boards. This is a shameful ruse by Christian nationalists in Texas who see the schools as a mission field."

A Lesson of Their Own

Texas may also be laying a lesson plan of their own for other states on how to bring Christianity to the classroom. The solution? Money.

Louisiana lawmakers recently passed a bill requiring the Ten Commandments in every single public school classroom across the state, and Oklahoma education head Ryan Walters is similarly putting Bibles in classrooms across the state. And President-elect Trump even said one of his top education priorities is bringing prayer back to schools.

Though the curriculum is by no means mandatory for schools to teach, there is a financial incentive for districts to do so. It’s no secret that many public schools are woefully underfunded, and the additional funding promised by teaching Christianity - upwards of $40 per student - will be a difficult carrot for schools to ignore.

The curriculum is planned to go into effect at the beginning of the next school year, in August 2025. But it seems almost certain that it will experience legal challenges between now and then.

What do you make of putting the Bible in schools - and offering a financial incentive to do so? Does Jesus belong in the classroom, and to what extent? Do advocates of the new curriculum have a point that we can’t divorce the history of the United States and the Christian faith… or is this just Christian nationalism at work?