And the bride wore black

Last Sunday I had the privilege of being invited to an Old Colony Mennonite wedding. As we drove up to the plain white wooden church I noticed my young friend, the bride, standing outside the church with her sister. They both carried large black Bibles. The bride's dress, although black, was fairly intricate. The many pleated skirt fell from the stitched bodice to just below the bride's knees. Her hair was unadorned and flowed freely. Her sister wore a light grey dress with puffy sleeves. We entered the church and sat with the men on the right side. The left side was entirely women and children. At the front of the church many of the women wore black with veiled bonnets leaving the face exposed. The bride and groom entered the church from the front with twelve elders dressed in black suits, no ties. The elders sat across the front of the church while the bride and groom sat facing them. The service then commenced in high German. Occasionally the elder would interject an English sentence for the few English speaking invitees. The hour long service commenced with the singing of a hymn, minus instruments and harmony. Many Scriptures were read in high German before the couple said their vows. Following the ceremony we went to the church basement for a light meal of noodle soup, homemade breads and sausage, cheese, cookies, coffee and wedding cake. A coffee can was passed around to collect donations to the couple, apparently they used to use the bride or groom's shoe.
Apparently the reason for the black dress and somber ceremony is to symbolize the solemnity of the wedding vows. Perhaps this is something we have lost in our society. While I am not advocating all bride's wear black, the message of the solemnity of the covenant the two are agreeing to is well taken. Currently in some regions of the United States couples can engage in a covenant marriage. In this marriage they pledge to do all they can to try to work things out before separating. This runs counter cultural to our easy divorce society. I wonder how many divorces would be less likely to occur if couple's had the support of their community. I have hope for my young friend's marriage. She is surrounded by family and friends who take her commitment seriously and will endeavour to help her and her spouse if struggles arise. It takes a village to raise a child, and it may take a community to grow a marriage.

Kudos to the graduate

Kudos to Jenn, the graduate, who worked long years on and off at school, in restaurants, daycare centre and other places to finally get her B.A. in religion and music. We are proud of you and wish you the best for the future!

Safe travel

The youngest is safely home at last after travelling across much of our vast country in 3 days, pulling 2 overnighters. Having kids stretches one's faith continuously for the rest of one's life--that is not a bad thing. I realize anxious attachment between family members is not healthy, and so it is good to have a God to turn to, to place one's children in His hands and trust them and Him for safe travel through the mountains and whatever weather may transpire. Ultimately God knows the number of our days on earth and is interested in helping us fulfil our purpose on earth.

Back in the best place in Canada to live

We returned home from beautiful British Columbia to find our weather here actually warmer than on the west coast. While we don't have as many rhodedendrons blooming, the spring bulbs are certainly lovely.
Our eldest daughter graduated and to see the glow on her face throughout the grad ceremony was worth the price of the flight. The youngest is currently driving back in a convoy of cars from B.C. and Jo is somewhere between Dallas and Buffalo right now flying home, check her blog for her story! I hope to post pictures of our wonderful weekend soon.