Has the church given into to the trends of society? The Church of England recently announced a plan for a double ceremony or as some dubbed it a ‘hatch and match’ ceremony, where the couple the can be married and then have their child baptized or themselves too if they like on the same day as part of the same ceremony.
The situation that has brought this about is that while the church believes that the best place for sex is within marriage relationship, the reality shows that around 44 percent of women are not married when they give birth. The Office for National Statistics highlighted the fact that for the first time ever ‘the number of young woman having children outstripped the number getting married.’ This is in England but one suspects that the figures may not be that different in other countries.
Those opponents of the idea say it trivializes what the church is about as well as the solemn ceremony of marriage and of baptism. Another opponent went on to say, that as well as missing the point of baptism that ‘the bride’s day’ has been hijacked.
Where did this notion that it is the bride’s day come from? I admit this attitude annoys me. In my mind a wedding is a celebration for both bride and groom. The day is about the couple.
That is one of the reasons I refused more than a couple of photos taken solely of me on our wedding day because it wasn’t just about me. It was our day and our wedding and I wanted the photos to reflect that. So our photos of our wedding day reflect that we were a couple, that we were starting life together and that we enjoy being together. All these years down the track, we still are.
Our wedding wall has photos of us as a couple and of our son and his wife as a couple. While we have one of our daughter on her own, we also have one of our son-in-law on his own. The other photos show them as a couple.
As to the Church of England’s idea about a double ceremony, I guess I don’t see the point of making it an all in one package. Are we saying that’s the only time a couple needs to come to church, so let’s get it all over and done with on the one day, so they don’t have to come again? What do others think about this idea?
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