My church is currently in the process of composing formal wedding and funeral policies. If your church has one, I would greatly appreciate it if you would send it to locustsandhoney2005 at yahoo dot com. Examining how other churches have addressed these rituals will help us formulate our own.
My activity on this blog has dropped off because I have started a CPE program in Jacksonville, on top of my regular pastoral duties. I don't have regular, daily access to the Internet, nor time to make use of it, really.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
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11 comments:
I'm not the person responsible but I know at least two policies:
1. Our pastor does not take part in the "giving away of" women by their parents. It's too reminiscent of the chattel part of history where women were property to be given away.
2. We don't bury 'em unless they're dead.
What are you doing CPE for?
nevermind...
i know what you mean now
Dan,
Good to know that you guys follow policy number 2. Things could get messy otherwise. :)
John,
Seems that a lot of us are backing away due to life changes and challenges. Some resons are good, some, not so good, but it is happening. Thanks for continuing to do what you do.
PAX
JD
I'm only aware of two rules for weddings. We require premarital counseling which the church will provide. We also require the bride and groom to be Christians. I'll look into our official guidelines as soon as I can.
For funerals, I am unaware of anything.
CPE. What fun!
I'm doing another rotation in another semester or so.
Jeff,
Glad that you mentioned the pre-maritial counseling. That should be a pre-requisite in every Christian church. I went on an engagement encounter with my wife and we learned a great deal about each other before we were married. I actually know people that went through that and decided not to get married, and were OK with that.
PAX
JD
For Weddings our church requires pre-marital counseling.
For funerals my poicy is I am there for the family and try to minister to them where they are. If they want a church funeral we discuss things like music and readings and such.
Doing "non-church" funerals has been an important part of my ministry. I am able to help families in their time of need and it is a real blessing for me as well as them(hopefully).
I totally agree with the "non-church" funeral ministry. It is important and a great way to show God's grace and mercy at a difficult time.
Our church has a policy for "non-church" weddings. We don't see ourselves as a wedding chapel. So when we are asked to do weddings for folks who have no connection with our church, the policy is
1) you have to go through the pre-marital counseling, including questions about your faith and pre-marital sex issues
2) the pastor has to be satisfied with your answers
3) the counseling sessions and the wedding itself must fit the pastor's schedule, not the other way around.
Blessings on your CPE experience. I did not do CPE during my divinity school days because I did not see myself going into full-time pastoral ministry. After I changed courses (with God's help!), I asked for and received a leave of absence once summer to do a CPE summer unit. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. (No exaggeration there.)
I think CPE offers tremendous insight into both pastoral care and one's own self, both of which are invaluable in ministry (and are hard to come by in seminary coursework).
Dan's funeral requirement seems a little strict, but I guess that that's Anabaptists for you.
I've heard nothing but good things about CPE from people who have gone through it. In the Florida Conference, I'd say about half of all candidates do it.
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