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Mount Olive Lutheran Church
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Special Facilities Available: | Fellowship Hall | Wedding Plan Link |
| INTRODUCTION
This Wedding Planner is intended to answer frequently asked questions about weddings at Mount Olive Lutheran Church. It is important to remember that a wedding service at Mount Olive Lutheran Church is a worship service in which baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ make their vows before God and before the congregation, according to principles laid out in the Word of God. The guidelines in this document have been approved by Mount Olive's Board of Elders. Your wedding day is an exceedingly important day for you and your families. We are glad to have an opportunity to share this happy occasion with you! Mount Olive Lutheran Church, its pastors and staff stand ready to work with you to make this a time you will remember with pleasure and fondness. In a wedding worship service, the Bride and Groom are special guests. Our goal is that the wedding service glorify God. God's blessing upon marriage is sought. The joining of the Bride and Groom is done with dignity and in accord with proper legal documents. PRE-WEDDING AGREEMENT Weddings at Mount Olive may only be arranged after a personal interview with one of our pastors and the signing of a Pre-Wedding Agreement. A copy of this Agreement is available by clicking here. This Agreement describes what Mount Olive will do for you, including an explanation of a Christian wedding service, and the gathering of required information about your baptism and confirmation. The Pre-Wedding Agreement also describes what Mount Olive requires of you, including attendance at a Pre-marital workshop, and, for those who are not confirmed members of Mount Olive or a sister Lutheran Church - Canada [LCC] congregation, attendance at classes on the teachings of Basic Christianity. After you have chosen a tentative date and time for your wedding, it is important that you contact one of our pastors for your initial appointment. It is important that you plan no part of your wedding day until you have determined the availability of the church and a pastor and you have agreed with the requirements laid out by the congregation. In subsequent meetings with the Pastor, details of your wedding will be discussed, so that you may proceed with plans involving invitations, flowers, music, reception, attendants, photography, and the like. If you would like other Lutheran Church-Canada clergy to participate in your wedding, the invitation must be extended by Mount Olive. You should inform your pastor of your wishes in this area at your first meeting.
MEMBERS As noted above, if both of you are communicant members of Mount Olive, or a sister Lutheran Church - Canada congregation, it is required that you attend a Pre-Marital Course taught by one of our pastors. NON-MEMBERS If either of you is not a communicant member of Mount Olive, or of a sister LCC congregation, we require that the two of you attend a Pastor's Class when such a class is next offered. This class teaches the basics of the Christian faith and allows individuals to become members of Mount Olive should they so choose. In addition, individuals who have not been baptized will need to discuss this with one of our pastors before the wedding service takes place.COUPLES LIVING OUT OF TOWN If you are living out of town, you may be able to attend a Pre-Marital Workshop offered by Mount Olive or one of our pastors may make arrangements with a pastor in your local area for you to attend Pre-Marital sessions closer to home. Pastor Terry or Pastor Ted will also make arrangements for you to attend classes on Basic Christianity at your closest Lutheran Church - Canada congregation, if you are not able to attend these classes at Mount Olive.MARRIAGE LICENCE In Saskatchewan, couples seeking marriage require a marriage license. Marriage licenses may be purchased from marriage license issuers. Jewelry stores or town administrators in Saskatchewan generally provide this service. The license is valid for 90 days. The fee is $50.00.DIVORCED INDIVIDUALS If the prospective bride or groom is divorced, evidence of the termination of the marriage must be presented to the marriage license issuer. The following documents are acceptable as proof of the dissolution of the marriage: the original or a court certified copy of the “Decree Absolute” of Divorce; or the original or court certified copy of the “Certificate of Divorce.” A copy of the document is required for the church files as well. Additional information on these matters may be obtained at the Saskatchewan Justice website -- http://www.saskjustice.gov.sk.ca/Marriage/FACILITY USE Weddings are normally held at Mount Olive, on church premises. Outdoor weddings may be arranged, in consultation with one of our pastors. The service would be performed either by Pastor Terry or Pastor Ted or by the pastor of a sister Lutheran Church - Canada congregation. Other individuals may participate in the worship service, as Scripture readers, candle-lighters, and the like, as agreed upon beforehand. It is important to remember that Mount Olive Lutheran Church – as well as its furnishings – have been dedicated as a House of Worship and we ask that you and your guests maintain proper decorum and behavior at all times. Since our furnishings are dedicated items, they may not be removed to accommodate decorations. No decorations may be fastened to furnishings with pins or tacks. Please check with our pastors about this.FEE SCHEDULE The fee schedule for a wedding service at Mount Olive is included below. Please note that amounts are included for the caretaker who will clean the church after the wedding, the sound-person who will look after the PA system during the service, and for your musician. The caretaker and sound-person are provided by Mount Olive. Additional musicians, including soloists and the like, would also receive a suitable honorarium. If you have your own organist, you would provide them with an honorarium. The amount indicated for the organist below is for a church-provided organist.
PHOTOS & VIDEOS In order to keep the service orderly and dignified, there will be a minimum of distractions due to photography and other such movement. Flash pictures are permitted as the wedding party enters and leaves the church. They are also permitted during the signing of the register. Photo opportunities may be arranged before or after the service. Please ask your photographer and video person to meet with the Pastor at the wedding rehearsal or immediately before the service.SERVICE PLANNING The Worship Service that celebrates your wedding is a "Christian Wedding Service" not just a "Church Wedding." The wedding service will lead you and your guests in worship, giving glory to God and asking for His blessings on your life together. The Pastor will offer suggestions for the shaping of your service and for the music to accompany it, and will coordinate your plans for the various parts of the wedding service. We will help you plan a service that avoids the sensational and the sentimental so that it will be a service you will remember with happiness and contentment in future years. Since the music in a Wedding Service is to glorify God, it should contribute to the respectful spirit of worship which shall prevail. Appropriate music is available for organ, vocal and instrumental selections and should be cleared with the Pastor during the service planning. The inclusion of very young children in Wedding Services, while "very cute," may lead to excessive disruption while the "little ones steal the show." Since the wedding service is a service of worship of God and since the Bride and Groom are the special guests of the day, "little ones stealing the show" is inappropriate for the occasion. We recommend that children younger than four years of age not be included in the wedding party. Please discuss this with the Pastor. Worship folders for the Wedding Service are prepared and printed by the staff of Mount Olive Lutheran Church. Couples are asked to purchase bulletins through the church office. OTHER The Pastor will arrange a date and time for a Wedding Rehearsal and direct the activities at the rehearsal so that it will go smoothly in as brief a time as possible. Please ask all member of the wedding party, as well as family members, to be on time for the rehearsal.The Pastor will be able to offer suggestions for the work of the ushers at your wedding so that they will be informed as to their duties and be ready to anticipate any unexpected eventualities. Additional information and checklist forms can be obtained from the Pastor. May God bless the important plans you are making at this time! |