All marriages at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church begin with the words: Marriage is ordained by God and to be held in honor by all people.  That is to say that it is in keeping with the purpose of building the church in the first place.  We are here to honor God and speak of His truth to all men.  A time of counseling with the Pastor of the church is a necessary part of the wedding planning.  While this need not be a lengthy time, several hours should be set aside so the couple understand the meaning of a Christian marriage.

Several passages of Scripture will be used during the service and it is important that the couple be familiar with their meaning.  All of this is done to provide a basis of God-given directives upon which the marriage is founded..  In addition to the Scriptural basics, the Pastor has developed twenty-five ?rules? to maintain the level of love that is usually present at the beginning of the marriage.  How to continue loving another when the winds of difficulty arise are discussed at length.

Problems of in-laws, money management, children discipline, religious (denominational) differences, and the like are all topics open for discussion during the time spent together.  In addition, the wedding vows, themselves, are discussed and any personal additions that the couple would like to make are inserted providing they are not antithetical to the main purpose of a Christian wedding.

There are many areas of expense necessary before a couple as they begin life together, the wedding ceremony need not be so expensive that it become a difficulty for them as they start out.  An amount of honorarium is expected for the organist, the wedding coordinator, the use of the church and the Pastor.  While a suggestion may be made for each of these tasks, they will be kept at a reasonable minimum.