I'd seen baptism ceremonies in movies and I always wished to observe them in person. Over my second trip to Cyprus, I could attend one at a historical Greek Orthodox Church (not so far from the American embassy). This baptism was for a 2-year old boy and it appeared that everybody was enjoying the lengthy procession, except for the baby who had no clue about what was going on and why it was so important to be stripped in that cool evening and be treated with all sort of consecrated liquids. Probably, that's one of the reasons that Baptists postpone the baptism till people grow up and decide for themselves. After all, Jesus was baptized when he was a grownup man.
The next time was in Toledo for grownup people at Corpus Christi University Parish when I'd gone there for Easter last year. Then, it was for a one-year old girl at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Cleveland over my trip last summer. These last two were in Catholic churches. I'm still open to see more and more in other denominations.
The next on my wish list was attending a wedding ceremony. However, wedding ceremonies are not as easily accessible as baptism. Wedding is sorta private and invite-only. The baptism in Nicosia looked somehow private and family-only too, but probing and curious (nosy?) as I am in my social field research, I went in and gradually proceeded to the front row as if I were a close relative. By the end, the baby's grandfather got interested in this curious social researcher and was happy with my explanation. And I ended up with a detailed history of the 17th century Agios Dometios Church (pronounced, Ah-yoo Doh-meh-tioo) and furthermore, 2 delicious dark chocolate cupcakes. So, my lengthy observation was fruitful in every possible way.
But that doesn't happen all the time. At least, not with a wedding ceremony. And this could remain just a wish on a wish list. The day I had dropped by Hope Lutheran Church to save my afternoon prayers, a wedding rehearsal was in progress. And I had no clue about this as I entered the church to find some place in the back-office to say my prayers. And then, just after I set my feet in the sanctuary, a stern lady (more stern than the pastor at Hanmi) appeared out of nowhere and blocked my way with "Can I help you?" (God knows how much I hate this apparently polite, yet unfriendly infamous question). Hope is one of my churches and my first home in Toledo. Yet, this was embarrassing after my encounter at Hanmi. Fortunately, Pastor Tom was in the sanctuary and he knew how he could help me. This taught me a lesson.
So, when I visited Grace Lutheran Church the week after Christmas 2007 for their contemporary worship and was invited to the wedding ceremony for 2 of my friends, it was a God-sent blessing. Not just because it was a wedding. It was extra special in every way.
These friends are not friends in the normal sense. Both are almost the age of my parents (maybe a few years younger). One is a retired teacher who took me to Cherry Street Mission to participate in their food serving early last year. He clicked with me (the son of two retired teachers) easily and as a born-again Christian, he was very fascinated with my research on the role of religion in society and people's life and more so with my bold career switch to pursue this objective.
The other one is a nurse (who really loves her job). I got to know her over Bible studies that I attended almost every Wednesday over my first semester. And as a devout Christian, she too was very interested in my research and my views on religion.
Both of them have lost their spouses years ago and as regular church members, they gradually got interested in each other over the course of years. And voila. Is there a better context to fall in love than the House of God when you go there for God's love? So, this was the marriage of two grandparents who happened to be my friends (and neither look like grandparents). I was not aware of their marriage decision up until this Christmas; although I had noticed over past months that there was something special about their relationship and interaction. And then, I got the news and the invitation. An excellent opportunity for an interesting field observation.
Although I knew I would be extremely busy this semester, I couldn't be more willing to accept the invitation. And I counted days to attend the wedding and really hoped that nothing happened to stop me from attending this ceremony. And here we go.
As regular members of a traditional church, it was most trivial for them to make their wedding as Christian as possible. An overview of a typical Christian wedding could be found here. There were extra readings of Bible, selected by the bride and groom. Pastor Baumgartner from Salem Lutheran whom I knew from MAMA at Grace, was one of the vocalists who sang the Lord's Prayer. And by this time, it must have become clear that the Eucharist was included in the wedding procession (which is not a norm in all Christian weddings). And the wedding itself was done by Pastor Jacobs and Pastor Lauman together. An extra dose of pastoral care. Apart from the three pastors directly involved in the wedding, there were other pastors as guests. Before the ceremony began, one of the guest pastors joked, "you must beware of having so many ministers in your wedding".
Apart from these extra doses of Christianity, the wedding was more or less like the ones I had seen in movies. But maybe not. In a typical wedding, you don't have the groom's son (who is a father himself) as the best man. Or having bride's married daughters and their daughters as bridesmaids. But these were not the only interesting things that I witnessed over this ceremony. I arrived in the church early and there was a photography marathon going on. And you know, much fun goes on over such photo takings.
When Pastor Van Brussel (one of the retired pastors of Grace) posed for a photo with the couple, Pastor Jacobs jumped on the scene to make a V-sign behind his head. And then, it was when the photographer asked all people on the scene to remove their eyeglasses. Much fun for me to watch. So, being early bird has its benefits.
What was interesting to me was the love between the couple (especially on the groom side). At times, I sensed signs of feminism. At the beginning of wedding ceremony, the groom (accompanied by his best man/son) stood patiently and expectantly on the stage, waiting for the bride to enter from the rear of the sanctuary, accompanied by her granddaughter/bridesmaids. And when she did, everybody rose in admiration. This is not what you see in all movies. Or when it came to the Exchange of Vows, he refused to repeat after Pastor Jacobs "to forgive you" and instead, repeated twice "to give you". Well, the bride was so lovely that he could think of nothing about her to forgive.
By the end, the bride and groom walked along the aisle, greeting and/or hugging all the guests one by one. And the church was packed. And then, we left for the reception in Brenner Hall which was dimly lit with mini-candles. And there was much fun here also.
My first experience with a Christian wedding was very pleasant. I'm not sure how many weddings of this quality I would attend. A wedding so Christian and so romantic. Yet, real and natural, not staged (as in movies). I can just be hopeful.
The next time was in Toledo for grownup people at Corpus Christi University Parish when I'd gone there for Easter last year. Then, it was for a one-year old girl at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Cleveland over my trip last summer. These last two were in Catholic churches. I'm still open to see more and more in other denominations.
The next on my wish list was attending a wedding ceremony. However, wedding ceremonies are not as easily accessible as baptism. Wedding is sorta private and invite-only. The baptism in Nicosia looked somehow private and family-only too, but probing and curious (nosy?) as I am in my social field research, I went in and gradually proceeded to the front row as if I were a close relative. By the end, the baby's grandfather got interested in this curious social researcher and was happy with my explanation. And I ended up with a detailed history of the 17th century Agios Dometios Church (pronounced, Ah-yoo Doh-meh-tioo) and furthermore, 2 delicious dark chocolate cupcakes. So, my lengthy observation was fruitful in every possible way.
But that doesn't happen all the time. At least, not with a wedding ceremony. And this could remain just a wish on a wish list. The day I had dropped by Hope Lutheran Church to save my afternoon prayers, a wedding rehearsal was in progress. And I had no clue about this as I entered the church to find some place in the back-office to say my prayers. And then, just after I set my feet in the sanctuary, a stern lady (more stern than the pastor at Hanmi) appeared out of nowhere and blocked my way with "Can I help you?" (God knows how much I hate this apparently polite, yet unfriendly infamous question). Hope is one of my churches and my first home in Toledo. Yet, this was embarrassing after my encounter at Hanmi. Fortunately, Pastor Tom was in the sanctuary and he knew how he could help me. This taught me a lesson.
So, when I visited Grace Lutheran Church the week after Christmas 2007 for their contemporary worship and was invited to the wedding ceremony for 2 of my friends, it was a God-sent blessing. Not just because it was a wedding. It was extra special in every way.
These friends are not friends in the normal sense. Both are almost the age of my parents (maybe a few years younger). One is a retired teacher who took me to Cherry Street Mission to participate in their food serving early last year. He clicked with me (the son of two retired teachers) easily and as a born-again Christian, he was very fascinated with my research on the role of religion in society and people's life and more so with my bold career switch to pursue this objective.
The other one is a nurse (who really loves her job). I got to know her over Bible studies that I attended almost every Wednesday over my first semester. And as a devout Christian, she too was very interested in my research and my views on religion.
Both of them have lost their spouses years ago and as regular church members, they gradually got interested in each other over the course of years. And voila. Is there a better context to fall in love than the House of God when you go there for God's love? So, this was the marriage of two grandparents who happened to be my friends (and neither look like grandparents). I was not aware of their marriage decision up until this Christmas; although I had noticed over past months that there was something special about their relationship and interaction. And then, I got the news and the invitation. An excellent opportunity for an interesting field observation.
Although I knew I would be extremely busy this semester, I couldn't be more willing to accept the invitation. And I counted days to attend the wedding and really hoped that nothing happened to stop me from attending this ceremony. And here we go.
As regular members of a traditional church, it was most trivial for them to make their wedding as Christian as possible. An overview of a typical Christian wedding could be found here. There were extra readings of Bible, selected by the bride and groom. Pastor Baumgartner from Salem Lutheran whom I knew from MAMA at Grace, was one of the vocalists who sang the Lord's Prayer. And by this time, it must have become clear that the Eucharist was included in the wedding procession (which is not a norm in all Christian weddings). And the wedding itself was done by Pastor Jacobs and Pastor Lauman together. An extra dose of pastoral care. Apart from the three pastors directly involved in the wedding, there were other pastors as guests. Before the ceremony began, one of the guest pastors joked, "you must beware of having so many ministers in your wedding".
Apart from these extra doses of Christianity, the wedding was more or less like the ones I had seen in movies. But maybe not. In a typical wedding, you don't have the groom's son (who is a father himself) as the best man. Or having bride's married daughters and their daughters as bridesmaids. But these were not the only interesting things that I witnessed over this ceremony. I arrived in the church early and there was a photography marathon going on. And you know, much fun goes on over such photo takings.
When Pastor Van Brussel (one of the retired pastors of Grace) posed for a photo with the couple, Pastor Jacobs jumped on the scene to make a V-sign behind his head. And then, it was when the photographer asked all people on the scene to remove their eyeglasses. Much fun for me to watch. So, being early bird has its benefits.
What was interesting to me was the love between the couple (especially on the groom side). At times, I sensed signs of feminism. At the beginning of wedding ceremony, the groom (accompanied by his best man/son) stood patiently and expectantly on the stage, waiting for the bride to enter from the rear of the sanctuary, accompanied by her granddaughter/bridesmaids. And when she did, everybody rose in admiration. This is not what you see in all movies. Or when it came to the Exchange of Vows, he refused to repeat after Pastor Jacobs "to forgive you" and instead, repeated twice "to give you". Well, the bride was so lovely that he could think of nothing about her to forgive.
By the end, the bride and groom walked along the aisle, greeting and/or hugging all the guests one by one. And the church was packed. And then, we left for the reception in Brenner Hall which was dimly lit with mini-candles. And there was much fun here also.
My first experience with a Christian wedding was very pleasant. I'm not sure how many weddings of this quality I would attend. A wedding so Christian and so romantic. Yet, real and natural, not staged (as in movies). I can just be hopeful.
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