Garden Weddings...

I belong to a mainstream church where garden weddings are really discouraged. What I do not understand the same vows people will take in the permanent building called church and in the garden are the same. The same proclamations the minister or the priest will pronounce in the church or the garden are the same. The sermon the minister or priest will preach in the church I assume would be the same in the garden and the wedding certificate is the same in both set ups.

The reason given is that the church is consecrated. Let’s reflect, for the communities where they do not have permanent structures they can identify as church, worship is done under a tree, I believe God still hears their supplication. I have a friend who is a Reverend who tells me that some of the churches in his parish worship under a tree. What they do, is come with the benches under a tree and they do their worship including even taking Holy Communion. Just imagine what activities may have taken place under the same tree during the night... Am now sure some of you who belong to mega churches cannot visualize such things happening on Sunday morning in Kenya. Well they do. He tells me that according to the members when seated on the bench that is church but once the service ends and they move just two meters away from the bench that is not church. And they even justify lighting a cigarette.

Now suppose someone from the mega mainstream churches decided to do their wedding in that church would the church ministers regard that as a garden wedding or a church wedding, will the fee be for a garden wedding or church wedding.

I think we complicate life so much and the idea of saying the church is an altar is escapism and a way of ensuring that your church members do not inconvenience you by getting you out of your comfort zones to the garden, and hence the reason why the mainstream church makes it very expensive to do a garden wedding.

Am of the opinion the wedding in Cana of Galilee was a garden wedding. Matthew 23:1-36 “…the teachers of the law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses’ law. So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions because they don’t practice what they preach they tie on to people’s backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren’t willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads….