Today I'm going to preside at the first wedding I've done in a long time. Since first being ordained in 1996, I've done hundreds of funerals, but only maybe a dozen or two weddings. In my days as a Unitarian Universalist minister I did some unusual ones. I remember one wedding I did in the Tufts Chapel for a Greek Orthodox woman who wanted all the Orthodox rituals in her wedding with her groom, a culturally Jewish man who'd never once been to temple in his life. He had no knowledge of her (or his) religion, but just kept saying he didn't want the wedding to be "too Christian." Boy, I had to work very hard with that couple to come up with something that worked for them both! I did weddings for people who wanted me to sing Sufi chants I'd never heard of or to include very, very long poems or to base their ceremony on their favorite movie. I've got to say, such weddings were exhausting! It was like reinventing marriage every time. Now, as an Episcopal priest, I stick with the Marriage rite from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. It's traditional, but beautiful, and it is founded in the understanding that it is God that brings people together into a life of commitment together.
Marriage is about making promises - both the bride and groom's promises to each other and God's promise to be there with them in their love for each other. Sometimes we avoid making promises for fear that we will not be able to keep them. But today two of our parishioners will make lifelong promises to each other - and despite the risks involved, they are excited and happy. For they know they will not need to carry out their promises alone. Their extended families and our church community stand ready to support them in their marriage. And they also know that God is at the center of their lives together and will provide what they need to live more deeply into God's love together.
When we are convinced that God is active in our lives and when we can entrust our lives to God, we are able to make promises to ourselves and others despite our fears. For we know that with God, nothing is impossible. I am grateful for John and Kim today - for their faith, and for their willingness to make promises.
Elsa, it's Alice from Steve's a cappella group. I thought of you today as my daughters and I prepared a recipe you gave me many years ago. Scribbled on a now-stained piece of graph paper, "Elsa's Apple Pie" recipe is a staple for Thanksgiving and other days when excellent pie is required! So after I Googled you and read this blog post, I feel grateful that our wedding was among the small number that you've performed. We recently celebrated our 14th anniversary, and now live in San Diego with our 2 girls, Georgia (13) and Elena (9). Wishing you an abundance of blessings at Thanksgiving and always, and please give my regards to Steve!
ReplyDeleteHey Alice! So great to hear from you. Your email was not included in your post, so I hope you see my response here. What wonderful news to hear about your two girls - and I am so happy to hear you keep enjoying the pie! You can reach me through my website: www.gracetrumbull.org. Let me know your email so Steve can say hi, too!
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