122 West National Road
Vandalia, OH 45377
937.898.5656
Revised November
2006
by Church Council action
Welcome to St. John’s
Evangelical Lutheran Church and our Wedding Guidelines. These guidelines were revised and approved
by our Congregational Council in July 2002.
They were developed from notes and suggestions contained in The
Manual on the Liturgy: Lutheran Book of
Worship and from our own experience of providing wedding ministry over the
years. We ask that you read over them
carefully and prayerfully.
Marriage is . . .
Marriage
is a structure belonging to all humanity.
Marriage is essentially a covenant of fidelity between a man and woman
made with society’s sanction, grounded in the steadfast love of God. God’s abiding faithfulness is the
model: as He is, so should we be.
Marriage
is a glad occasion overflowing with joy.
Those who celebrate marriage rejoice in the gifts of God: life, health, strength, sexuality, family –
all that the Creator declared from the beginning to be “very good.”
Marriage
is of interest to both church and state, and marriage is done in the presence
of a representative of one or the other.
It is not the minister who performs the marriage but the wedding
couple. The bride and groom marry each
other, exchanging vows of faithfulness and commitment to each other, and the
minister is the principal witness to their action. Family and friends gather with the couple to witness the exchanging
of vows. It is in this community of
prayer and support that the couple begins their new life together.
Marriage
is the relationship between a man and a woman.
The marriage union is not complete until God is invited to be an active
partner in the union. It is only
through the power, presence, and grace of God in the marriage, that the
promises of love and fidelity shared on the wedding day can have any hope of
lasting a lifetime.
Wedding Requests
Requests
for weddings to be held at St. John’s come from members, former members and
those with no affiliation with the Church.
It is the policy of St. John’s Lutheran Church that only church members
may be married in the sanctuary. For
the purpose of the wedding guidelines only, church membership is defined as a
confirmed adult member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and his/her child. The
pastor of St. John’s, presiding at the wedding, must approve any deviation from
this policy. Exceptions include:
1.
Individuals
who have established a significant pattern of regular worship at St. John’s
Lutheran Church.
2.
Members
of area Lutheran churches with a pastoral vacancy.
3.
At
the discretion of the pastor and with approval of the Congregational Council.
Planning Your Wedding . . .
Wedding
Worship
A
wedding is a time of special thanks and praise. You are asking God’s blessing upon your life together. In worship you join with family and friends
in celebration. During your planning,
remember every person involved in the wedding ceremony and every part of the wedding
ceremony should be seen as adding to your worship of God and your celebration
of joy.
The pastor and wedding couple will design the marriage
service with the help of The Lutheran Book of Worship and other
resources. The pastor will make
suggestions to tailor the service to your needs, focusing on the true meaning
of marriage and the close fellowship we know as God’s family.
Scheduling
Scheduling
a wedding date one year in advance is not unusual. At least a four (4) month notice is required so that proper
counseling and other preparations can be made.
After
you have selected a date and time, it is important to call the pastor of St.
John’s to ensure the day and time are available on our church calendar. No wedding date is reserved or final until
approved by the pastor. When the
wedding date is set, the pastor will arrange for pre-marital counseling.
Weddings
are to be scheduled and placed on the church calendar only by the Pastor in
accordance with the St. John’s Wedding Guidelines.
To
avoid conflicts on the days weddings are scheduled, no other activities in the
church building will be scheduled without approval from the Pastor.
Music
All
arrangements for the wedding music are to be made with our church
organist. The organist is asked to
submit all music titles to the pastor two (2) weeks prior to the wedding. All music to be used in the wedding ceremony
must be approved by the pastor. It is
the responsibility of the wedding couple to contact the church organist after
the initial meeting with the pastor.
Since
the marriage service is a form of worship, the music must be carefully
chosen. The music should be in keeping
with the worship of God, the atmosphere of the church, and the capabilities of
the organ.
The
wedding music prior to the service, both instrumental and vocal, has the
responsibility of setting the mood.
This does not mean the music should be ponderous and dull! It should be festive and joyful. It does mean the music should direct one’s
thoughts to God.
Any
number of musical options are possible before the entrance procession: solo, ensemble, or choral pieces; organ or
other instrumental music, or music using a combination of these options. Whenever music is employed in the service
and by whatever instruments or voices, it should be within the ability of the
performers at hand to play or sing with assurance.
The
church organist is the custodian of our organ.
Requests for a different organist must be made through the church
organist. Any soloist or outside
musicians may be of your own choice, but they should contact the church
organist in ample time to arrange for rehearsals.
Please
see page eight (8) of this document for details concerning our organist’s fees.
Participation
of Other Clergy
If
you wish another ordained Christian clergy person to assist in the wedding
service, share this desire with the pastor of St. John’s. However, as host in our church home, the
pastor of St. John’s congregation will officiate at all weddings.
Marriage
License
The
marriage license is to be turned in to the church office on the day of the
wedding rehearsal. There will be no
rehearsal until the pastor has the marriage license in his/her possession. The pastor and your witnesses later sign the
certificate.
Church
Property
We
are pleased to provide you with the use of our sanctuary and furnishings. All chancel furnishings are dedicated items
and are not to be removed or concealed by decorations. A complete list of items provided by the
church can be found in the “Wedding
Host Guidelines.”
The
altar paraments are seasonal and the color represents that part of the church
year in which your wedding is celebrated.
These colors are not changed for weddings.
Your
wedding host can assist with flower and candle selection, along with answering
questions related to other chancel decorations. An aisle cloth or runner may be rented from a local florist. The wedding host must approve all chancel
decorations.
Out
of respect for the worship of God, the church property and our custodian, we
request any birdseed be thrown outside of the church. We request rice never be thrown due to the nature of clean up and
to prevent accidents.
St.
John’s Lutheran Church is a no smoking facility. We request no smoking inside any of our buildings.
Rehearsal
Once
a day and time have been finalized for your wedding, a rehearsal date and time
will also be scheduled. A “wedding
host(s)” who will also assist you with planning and help to answer any
questions will contact you. See
“Wedding Host Guidelines” for more detailed information. The pastor will direct the rehearsal, with
assistance from the wedding host. It is
important that only the immediate wedding party is present for the rehearsal
and they are on time.
Photography
Local
photographers and local florists have served weddings in our church for many
years and are aware of our procedures.
We do not permit flash photography while the wedding service is in
progress. Please inform your guests of
this as well. Any poses may be taken
before or after the service and time exposures from the balcony are permitted.
If
you plan to have your wedding service preserved on video, the videographer must
be present at the rehearsal to discuss video guidelines with the pastor.
Fees
Our
church fees are listed at the bottom of this page. Payment of all fees must be made at least thirty (30) days prior
to the marriage service. Payment by
check must be made payable to: St.
John’s Lutheran Church. Organist fees
must be arranged with the organist and must also be made thirty (30) days in
advance. If you secure the services of
other musicians or singers, you are responsible for their fee or honorarium.
If
the church fees and organist’s fees are not paid by the required date or if
checks are returned for insufficient funds, St. John’s Lutheran Church reserves
the right to cancel involvement in your wedding ceremony. Should that become necessary, we will
communicate notice of cancellation by telephone or US mail within two (2)
business days.
Member Non-Member
Pastoral
Service No Fee $150.00
Sanctuary
Usage No Fee $500.00
Sanctuary
Cleaning $75.00 $75.00
Fellowship
Hall Usage No Fee $200.00
Fellowship
Hall Cleaning $100.00 $100.00
Wedding
Host(s) No Fee $75.00
Sound No Fee $25.00
Margaret Dill
Music Director/Organist
7883 Brookville-Phillipsburg
Rd.
Brookville, OH 45309
937.833.9032
As
organist at St. John’s Lutheran Church, I hope to help make your wedding a
special and memorable day. My fee for
attending both the rehearsal and wedding is $110. This includes initial consultation with the bride and groom to
select music and discuss details. It
also includes rehearsal with any additional musicians.
If
I attend the wedding only, my fee is $75.
This includes a phone consultation to discuss music selection and any
other details to be considered. My fee
is payable on the same day church fees are paid.
I
look forward to serving as the organist at your wedding and making the music
beautiful, meaningful and stress-free!