IndieCatholicMarriage.com
Hey! I'm Jack Furlong.
Let me begin by apologizing for my hair in the above picture. I tried my best to crop it out.
I am the ordained minister that started Independent Catholic Marriage. I have a number of secular jobs (professional jazz musician, amateur baseball umpire, non-profit director), but my faith has always been my top priority. I consider myself an Unaffiliated Independent Catholic.
I was raised Roman Catholic and always had something in my heart that called me to ordination, but I could never agree to celibacy. Instead, I worked in music ministry since I was studying music and became a professional musician. I remained in that position until shortly after the Roman Missal was changed into its new translation.
When the Missal changed, the Mass felt different. It lost its sense of familiarity and colloquialism, replacing them with an emphasis on guilt and shame in the name of a more accurate translation. I no longer felt welcome, as I battled internal conflict, trying to decipher who God truly is and what is really happening in life.
I stopped going to Mass, but I kept praying. Eventually, I discovered an Independent Catholic parish. After attending one Mass, my eyes were opened. I felt such love in this setting, being reminded that God loves me and reinforcing my value and self-worth. Within two months, I was entering seminary for formation as an ordained minister where I would not have to be celibate.
I flourished in an Independent Catholic setting. So many of the social issues that conflicted Catholics were now more progressive: priests could be single or married (or divorced), men or women, gay or straight, etc. It felt like Catholicism had finally caught up with the 21st century!
I remained at that parish until just before the COVID-19 pandemic when church politics reared their ugly head, resulting in my departure from the church before I could be ordained. However, I could not forget what I had learned during my studies. When the pandemic began to wind down, I started to look and listen for what God asked of me next.
I wanted to remain an Independent Catholic, but there were no other jurisdictions near me that aligned with what I believed. I decided to just be unaffiliated, and that's when I went back to my studies (albeit personally). That's when it hit me: the Sacrament of Marriage should be available to all (much like the other Sacraments), including the minister!
I became ordained by the Church of the Open Road in Colorado, which allowed me to remain an Unaffiliated Independent Catholic while also being legally allowed to solemnize marriages. And with that, here we are!
Let me begin by apologizing for my hair in the above picture. I tried my best to crop it out.
I am the ordained minister that started Independent Catholic Marriage. I have a number of secular jobs (professional jazz musician, amateur baseball umpire, non-profit director), but my faith has always been my top priority. I consider myself an Unaffiliated Independent Catholic.
I was raised Roman Catholic and always had something in my heart that called me to ordination, but I could never agree to celibacy. Instead, I worked in music ministry since I was studying music and became a professional musician. I remained in that position until shortly after the Roman Missal was changed into its new translation.
When the Missal changed, the Mass felt different. It lost its sense of familiarity and colloquialism, replacing them with an emphasis on guilt and shame in the name of a more accurate translation. I no longer felt welcome, as I battled internal conflict, trying to decipher who God truly is and what is really happening in life.
I stopped going to Mass, but I kept praying. Eventually, I discovered an Independent Catholic parish. After attending one Mass, my eyes were opened. I felt such love in this setting, being reminded that God loves me and reinforcing my value and self-worth. Within two months, I was entering seminary for formation as an ordained minister where I would not have to be celibate.
I flourished in an Independent Catholic setting. So many of the social issues that conflicted Catholics were now more progressive: priests could be single or married (or divorced), men or women, gay or straight, etc. It felt like Catholicism had finally caught up with the 21st century!
I remained at that parish until just before the COVID-19 pandemic when church politics reared their ugly head, resulting in my departure from the church before I could be ordained. However, I could not forget what I had learned during my studies. When the pandemic began to wind down, I started to look and listen for what God asked of me next.
I wanted to remain an Independent Catholic, but there were no other jurisdictions near me that aligned with what I believed. I decided to just be unaffiliated, and that's when I went back to my studies (albeit personally). That's when it hit me: the Sacrament of Marriage should be available to all (much like the other Sacraments), including the minister!
I became ordained by the Church of the Open Road in Colorado, which allowed me to remain an Unaffiliated Independent Catholic while also being legally allowed to solemnize marriages. And with that, here we are!
