225 Broad Street • Reinbeck , IA 50669
(319) 788-6434
Menu
We are honored that you have chosen to be married at the UCC, and it is a privilege to be a part of this important chapter in your life. It is our hope that in preparing for your wedding you will not only become closer to one another, but closer to God and to our community of faith. Couples wishing to be married at Union Congregational UCC, members and non-members alike, are ordinarily expected to:
• Participate in pre-marital counseling
• Conduct their wedding according to the church’s policies and procedures.
Our church defines marriage in the following way: Marriage is a gift God has given to all humankind for the well-being of the entire human family. For Christians marriage is a covenant through which two people are called to live out together before God their lives of discipleship. In a service of Christian marriage a lifelong commitment is made by a couple to each other, publicly witnessed and acknowledged by the community of faith.
It is expected that at least one of the persons to be joined is a professing Christian, and ordinarily an active member of a particular community of faith. Membership here is not a requirement
The pastor will endeavor to perform weddings of church members or their children at their mutual convenience. Generally speaking, no weddings are scheduled on Sundays, holidays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, during Holy Week, during our conference annual meeting or in the event of a previously scheduled church commitment.
Weddings of non-members are conducted solely at the discretion of the pastor. The decision not to perform a non-member wedding in no ways reflects on the worthiness of the couple. It simply means that the routine workload and previously scheduled events of the pastor sometimes prohibits additional non-member weddings.
Reservations for a wedding must be made through the Parish Administrator and the church office. General details of the wedding, including premarital counseling, the rehearsal and the reception should be discussed with the pastor before the date and time are confirmed on the church calendar. If you are planning a reception at the church, arrangements to reserve the Fellowship Hall should be made at the same time that the wedding ceremony itself is scheduled.
The pastor of the church, or a minister designated by the pastor, will officiate at all weddings. If the couple wishes another member of the clergy to participate, the invitation will be approved and extended by the pastor. The wedding service shall be under the sole direction of the officiating minister and will be based on liturgy in the United Church of Christ Book of Worship.
The pastor does not assume that the role of officiant at a wedding service necessarily includes an invitation to the rehearsal dinner or to the wedding reception, nor should couples feel obligated to include the pastor in this part of their celebration. If the pastor’s presence is desired for either of these events, a direct invitation, which includes the pastor’s spouse, should be extended well in advance of the wedding date. They will not attend without an invitation. Please be advised that they must coordinate it with their schedules, and as such, may or may not be available.
After the wedding has been scheduled, the couple should schedule the first pre-marriage conference with the pastor. Pre-marital counseling is intended to help prepare the couple for the challenges of married life, as well as to plan the ceremony itself. Ordinarily this will require 2 sessions with the pastor, and should begin at least 4-6 months prior to the wedding.
While it may be very rare, if the minister is convinced after discussion with the couple that commitment, responsibility, maturity, or Christian understanding are so lacking that the marriage is unwise, the minister shall assure the couple of the church’s continuing concern for them and not conduct the ceremony.
