Betrothed

Have you ever wondered about the Jewish custom?

When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Have you ever been to a kon'yakushiki 婚約式? I love this custom of the Japanese Church.

The engaged couple take a vow of chastity before God and the congregation, and the pastor gives a charge to the couple and a mini-sermon to all. Depending on the church, it's one part of the service, or it's a brief ceremony after the benediction, or in the case of our church, it's a separate worship service, in the afternoon.

A great opportunity for non-Christian parents, relatives and friends to enter a church building and attend a worship service, the engagement ceremony is also one more teaching tool, magnifying the beauty of waiting for a Christian spouse. And, it provides the girl an opportunity, if she desires, to get dressed up in kimono, so that she can have both western style at the wedding and also Japanese style at the 婚約式 engagement ceremony.

Saturday I attended the 婚約式 of special friends. The past few months have been a joyous time, watching God bring them to this point!

Each guest received a bookmark in our program with prayer requests from the couple written on the back.