Marriage

The purpose of marriage is to display this gospel cycle of full disclosure and complete acceptance—showing all, yet accepting one another nevertheless. Although God established marriage at Creation, before there was sin or a need for a Savior, God nevertheless designed marriage to explain the gospel. A biblical marriage will cycle through this cycle again and again. Always disclosing. Always accepting … a visual display of how Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Because Jesus and the gospel form the very heart of Christian marriage, we will not host a wedding in which one partner is a Christian and the other is not. To the Christian woman, the Apostle Paul writes, “She is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39).

Marriage is the closest form of gospel community, the holiest form, and involves a commitment to love—not just to love right now, while chemistry is on your side—but to love thirty years from now. It is a commitment to change each other’s diaper and empty each other’s bedpan. It is a lifetime covenant and should not be entered into lightly. We therefore require premarital counseling and personal spiritual support before we will host or perform a wedding.

Because of high demand and limited staff, we regret that often we must limit weddings to members in good standing in congregations in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) or Anglican Mission. Others are encouraged to speak with the church office about availability.

For more information and policies about weddings at Memorial at 314-721-0943