Christianity: Details about 'Quaker Wedding'
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home
|
Quaker weddings are the traditional ceremony of marriage within the Religious Society of Friends. Quaker wedding processTraditionally in a Friends Meeting when a couple decides to get married they declare their intentions to marry to the meeting (either in writing or in person). The meeting then appoints a clearness committee to talk with the couple and make sure that they have properly prepared themselves for marriage. If the committee is clear that this couple is ready, they recommend that the monthly meeting should take this wedding “under their care” and appoint a committee of overseers to make sure the couple makes all the needed arrangements for the wedding ceremony (these duties vary but may include helping schedule the date, premarital counseling, getting a certificate drawn up, making sure the couple knows how to acquire and file any legal documents required by the government). The ceremonyA traditional wedding ceremony in a Friends meeting is similar to any other Meeting for Worship, and therefore often very different from the experience expected by non-Friends. The attendees gather for silent worship, often with the couple sitting in front of the meeting (this depends on the layout of that particular meeting house). Out of the silence the couple will exchange vows with each other; since traditionally Friends have no clergy, there is no one person to “marry” them. Instead they declare themselves married before God and those gathered. They then sign the wedding certificate which, for the purposes of the meeting, means they are now married. All those present are invited to share messages with the gathered meeting as they feel led (as in any other Meeting for Worship, see main article on the Society of Friends). At the close of worship all of those present at the meeting are asked to sign the wedding certificate as witnesses that the wedding took place and acknowledging their presence at the service. Often these certificates are hung prominently in the homes of the couple throughout their married lives as a reminder of the vows they took, and the people they shared that moment of their lives with.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||