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Presbyterian And Non Denominational Church/ceremony?
Filed in Category - Old Church Hymns
My fiance and I are both Christian, but he is Presbyterian and I am Non Denominational. When it comes to the ceremony, he want’s it to be in a Presbyterian church with one of their Pastors. I’m not at all familiar with how they do things.
I used to go to a very modern, contemporary church and am more comfortable with that style than the old pew, hymn, organ style of church.
Honestly, I would rather be married outside. No church service at all!
Can anyone explain the differences to me and possibly offer a solution?
2 Comments so far
Congrats!
Yes, you can marry outdoors with a non-denominational officiant or with your husband’s Presbyterian pastor.
You can call a few venues and find out who are their suggested non denominational officiants. From there you can call and speak to different ones to find out how they would conduct the ceremony for you.
You could also meet with his Presbyterian pastor and ask him if he could do a ceremony outdoors for you. This shouldn’t be a problem. Protestant ministers do wedding ceremonies outdoors all the time. You and your fiance could meet with him and find out how the the ceremony would be conducted. Tell him if there’s anything you would like to add. Usually Protestant wedding ceremonies are very simple…a reading from the Bible, vows, exchange of rings, pronouncement of marrieage. This should be in accordance with your non denominational beliefs. It isn’t an actual “church service” and should only take about a half hour or less.
Obviously something you need to negotiate.
My husband is southern baptist (although I’m stumped about that as he’s been divorced several times, but I digress) and I’m pagan. We were married by …yes, you guessed it… a retired Catholic priest.
It all depends on how negotiable the pastor is (keeping in mind that his higher ups may be dictating what is allowed). The Catholic priest in our situation was a family friend of many decades. Because he was retired, he is not under the same restraints an active priest is, thus the wedding didn’t have to be in a church and it could be non-denominational. His only requirement was to include some christian stuff in it and I said, fine. Wasn’t a big deal to me, but was to my hubby. My suggestion is to make an appointment with the pastor and discuss with him what ideas you have and how they gel with what is allowed by this pastor. You always have the option to go elsewhere and have either a non-denominational minister or a completely non-religious person perform the ceremony.