A PROPER MARRIAGE!

#The wedding party after the wedding ceremony in Port Moresby.
IT IS THE WISH OF MANY PARENTS THAT THEIR CHILDREN TO HAVE A PROPER MARRIAGE.

I ATTENDED ONE LATE LAST YEAR. WHAT I WROTE IS WHAT I OBSERVED:



In these times when marriage is not treated with respect and the definition of what marriage really is forgotten to the majority it would have been a lesson indeed if one were to sit in and listen to a official marriage ceremony that took place on a Saturday afternoon (Dec 11, 2010) at Rev Sioni Kami Memorial Church in Port Moresby.

“Marriage brings a man and a woman together to become one in mind, spirit and body. Marriage is a lifelong commitment in which a man and woman come together and grow in love and continue to give themselves for each other in the same way that God loves His church and gave Himself for it.

Those were words by Rev Edea Kidu, the United church bishop of the urban region when he was the celebrant of the marriage of Vearinama Morea of Vabukori village in Port Moresby and Desmond Koike of Gaire Village in Central.

In further defining marriage Kidu said marriage is also a physical union of the husband and wife in which a child is born. It is in marriage that a home is also prepared in which the child may be born in security and love to grow up on a strong foundation as set by the marriage.
That foundation is essential for nation building, said Kidu.

Kidu said marriage must not be treated lightly or selfishly.
He told Morea and Koike in front of everybody that in this sacred institution they may fulfill God’s purpose for their lives.
“It is sacred and it is a gift from God and must be treated as such.”

As part of the ceremony the minister asked the parents of both parties if they agreed to have the two to be married.
Of course, the parents agreed since the planning for the wedding had taken more than a year to finalise the arrangements which included what attire the maid of honour, bridesmaid, best man, groomsman, ring bearers and flower girls would wear; and that did not only include the clothes but their hairstyle, their shoes and whether they have the ears of the flower girls pierced or not for ear rings.

The minister asked Morea and Koike to promise to take the other to be the spouse and remain faithfully to the spouse from this time forth ‘for better, for worse, in sickness or in health, to love and cherish for as long as s/he lives’.

The two then pledged their vows and exchanged rings and the minister blessed the two and pronounced them husband and wife:
“In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I declare you Desmond Koike and Vearinama Morea to be husband and wife.”

Then Kidu made a prayer of blessings saying:

“I pray that their marriage would be fruitful and their home would welcome others; and they be understanding in conflicts and remember that their marriage was made in the presence of their relatives, friends and God.”

The couple also signed their marriage certificates in the presence of the minister.
It was a proper marriage, officiated in church, blessed by God and parents and witnessed by friends and relatives and penned in black and white.

“Many parents wish their adult children could also walk the aisle and pledge their marriage vows in this manner,” Morea’s aunt, Tauedea Morea Mado said after the ceremony.