My Weekend Wedding

This weekend I performed a wedding at First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa for Marjorie's nephew Curt, who is also Jack's godfather. Working out the details with the pastoral staff was a breeze. They wanted to make sure I was doing something dignified and appropriately Christian. They also didn't want to make it a joint service of some sort. I assured them I didn't want that either, and after looking at the rite of marriage from LSB, they agreed.

The church was impressive, to say the least. I was struck by the traditional Presbyterian architecture. A massive raised oak pulpit dominated the center of the chancel area, with a low, long table in front of it. Behind the pulpit there was a vestige of a rood screen, and ranks for the choir were behind that. All the wood was oak, the floors were slate--very tasteful and beautiful...and very non-sacramental. The architecture made it clear that the place gave greatest honor and place to the sermon. While the stained glass on either end was exquisite, there were no other images or decoration in the sanctuary. It is clearly a place to hear and sing.

The church provided a weeding coordinator for the couple, which proved invaluable to me, being a guest there. She arranged for all the details before, during and after the wedding, allowing me the luxury of concentrating on what would happen from the invocation to the benediction. Since most traditional protestant weddings share similar entrance and exit procedures, I found that everything she had arranged fit in nicely with what I usually do as a Lutheran pastor.

All in all, it was the best experience I could hope for. They even had a kneeler available for the couple--something my church doesn't have. I am grateful for the presbytery at the church to allow me to come and "borrow" their building.