The Rev in Action

Just got back from New Ulm and wanted to post a quick update: The wedding was absolutely beautiful. They used a vineyard in southern MN, with an absurdly picturesque oak tree in the middle of the grounds. Tables were arrayed under the tree, and over 50 candle lanterns were hung from the branches above. The only issue was the occasional falling acorn, but no one was injured.

As for the service: I had been quite nervous up to the day before the ceremony: While I had several drafts of my service written, it had not quite gelled to the point I needed it to. And all of my attempts at a tranquil "space" to write in had been foiled by life circumstances (a terrible cold, travel, Pamela's back, exhaustion), so it wasn't until Friday morning that I finally felt I had the peace to just finish it all up: And it all came together just right. I reviewed the ceremony with the couple and they were very happy.

The unhappy party here would be the bride's family who are very conservatively religious, and I don't think they knew that they weren't getting a "REAL" minister. At the groom's dinner, the father in law cornered me to ask when I decided to give up my career and pursue the ministry - and what was my experience that brought me closer to the bible and Jesus. Oh man that was fun. I danced around it, saying that this is just one of the things I love in life and that I try to make time for everything... He walked away confused. We really didn't speak much after the service, that's for sure.

But the important thing is that the COUPLE were happy with the service - it had everything in it that they wanted, and nothing that they didn't. There was humor of course, and we actually had a good time up there. Oh, and of course I put my service on the Kindle: I might be the first minister out there to have done that... I should write to Amazon!

So my first experience as a Reverend was very very positive. We also did a lot of helping out with the preparations... and I also filled a semi-best man role too, so Paul and I had a lot of time together which was very nice. But in the end, I'm completely exhausted, and need to lie down!