Saturday, April 27, 2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n
11:00 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foothill Covenant Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Los Altos, California<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lighting the Candelabras\u2014Ushers Robbie Fong & Jaime Fong<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seating of Mother Emily Chan by Robbie Fong<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pastor Don, Groom Joe and Best Man Yuichi Segawa come out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily Chan & Yuichi Segawa light two tapered candles<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bridesmaid Tricia Fong<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bridesmaid Kristy Fong<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maid of Honor Anne Chan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flower Girl Olivia Chan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bride Allie and Father of the Bride Joe Chan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are gathered here to unite Allison Chan and Joseph Shubert in marriage. Marriage is an honorable institution ordained by the church, blessed by Jesus with his presence at the marriage at Cana in Galilee, and perpetuated by faithful and honorable men and women throughout the ages. This simple and celebrative ceremony is the outward expression of a sacred and inward union of hearts. This union is created by God\u2019s loving purpose and kept by God\u2019s abiding will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allie and Joe, we have joined you today to help you give added life to this marriage that you have chosen. Nothing is greater than for two human souls to feel that God has ordained them to spend their lives together. From Maine, the northernest part of New England to the far west coast of California, God has led you to love each other in the presence of your Creator to strengthen each other in all gladness, to be one with each other in unspeakable memories of the heart, and to let your happiness touch the lives of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe and Allie welcome you, their families and friends. Each one of you has given some of yourself in shaping the lives that they have today. They want you to know that your love, guidance, and encouragement will forever be appreciated and cherished. It is in this spirit of love and support that Allie and Joe have come to be married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us pray. Most gracious God, we have come together in this springtime of rising hope, to affirm and rejoice in the love Joe and Allie have for each other. We pray that you will transform their earthly love with your heavenly love. May they learn from your Spirit and with our help, that \u201clove is patient and kind;\u201d that \u201clove does not insist on its own way;\u201d and that the love of our Lord Jesus is powerful and sufficient. We pray, giving God the glory. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acknowledging that God has brought together Allie and Joe, who presents Allie to be married to Joe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe & Emily: \u201cWe do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture Reading<\/strong> Proverbs 3:3-6 Dana Wong<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremiah 29:11-13<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solo<\/strong> Si Ning Chan<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the book of Genesis, God notices that the man God created is lonely. That is a remarkable thing to say about God. Why would anyone need more than God for a companion? Yet God is not offended because Adam needs something God is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God sets out to work by creating all the beasts and the birds. But God still notices human loneliness and creates companions. Our loneliness is very important to God. God wants us to be companions to each other. God wants us to enjoy each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie and Joe, you are both achievers. You are both physicians. You have traveled to distant corners of the world. You both have keen minds and inquiring, adventurous spirits. But these independent qualities that both of you have still needed something else. You needed each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I heard that after you first met in the emergency room, the next time was coincidentally at a video store. Perhaps you were feeling lonely and a good love story and some popcorn would fill this need. After Allie rejected Joe\u2019s offer to rent the movie for her, he wanted to still meet her. They did by watching a movie together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your need and desire for each other are creative gifts. And your recognition of this loneliness that has brought you together this day, is the beginning of one kind of creation. In this case, it is the creation of a family and a marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe and Allie, your marriage brings together two different worlds into a unified creation of a new world together. You are bridging the great distance between California and Maine. You are appreciating the tranquillity of a simpler country life and the excitement of city living. The two of you are weaving together a new world as you decorate your house with a new archway to reflect how the East and the West come together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please also notice that God was not able to easily and quickly fill Adam\u2019s need. This will be true for you sometimes. You will do your best to meet your partner\u2019s need, and you sometimes will fail. When that happens, please take another clue from God. God did not go away, or pout. God did not blame Adam for not wanting what God brought him. God did not beat on the door of Adam\u2019s heart and demand that Adam accept one of God\u2019s gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the time, you will be able to fill that lonely place in your companion\u2019s heart. But when you cannot, take time to patiently affirm that the bond between you is not just a matter of need, but a matter of conviction and hope. Such a time calls for greater creativity than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you are lonely, teach each other new things: playing golf, going fishing, playing cribbage, planting a garden, stargazing on the lake, hiking up Mt. Washington or simply staying home to spend time together. Allie, Joe may eventually convince you to like hunting and singing Bob Dylan songs. And Joe, Allie may eventually convince you to like watching cable TV and taking a trip to San Francisco especially during black flies season in Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You were both once lonely but now you are together in love. Remember that when you may feel lonely, or empty, or hurting, don\u2019t give up on each other. God never gives up on us. So, give companionship to each other and the love in your marriage will grow for the rest of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie and Joe, here in the presence of God and your family and friends, I ask you to declare your intention to enter into covenant with each other through the grace of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie, will you have Joe to be your husband, to live together in holy marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie: \u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe, will you have Allie to be your wife, to live together in holy marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe: \u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solo<\/strong> \u201cRunning on Faith\u201d Joe Shubert<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe: Allie, I take you to be my wedded wife,<\/p>\n\n\n\n to have and to hold from this day forward,<\/p>\n\n\n\n for better, for worse,<\/p>\n\n\n\n for richer, for poorer,<\/p>\n\n\n\n in sickness and in health,<\/p>\n\n\n\n to love and to cherish,<\/p>\n\n\n\n as long as we both shall live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With my whole heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n and with my complete devotion,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I pledge my love to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie: Joe, I take you to be my wedded husband,<\/p>\n\n\n\n to have and to hold from this day forward,<\/p>\n\n\n\n for better, for worse,<\/p>\n\n\n\n for richer, for poorer,<\/p>\n\n\n\n in sickness and in health,<\/p>\n\n\n\n to love and to cherish,<\/p>\n\n\n\n as long as we both shall live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With my whole heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n and with my complete devotion,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I pledge my love to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A wedding ring is a symbol of an unbroken circle of love. It is also a visible statement of the intention of Allie and Joe to be faithful in their marriage relationship. Today, all of us are witnesses to the vows of loyalty Joe and Allie are making here in the presence of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie: Joe, I give you this ring, as a sign of my love, and faithfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe: Allie, I give you this ring, as a sign of my love, and faithfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us pray. By these rings, O God, join Allie and Joe together and bless these rings, O God, that those who wear them, who give and receive them, may be ever faithful to one another, remain in your peace, and live and grow together in your love. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe and Allie will now light the Unity Candle. The two smaller candles represent their individual lives, burning singularly and apart from the other. They will together light the larger, single Unity Candle, signifying that the flame which once burned alone is now joined by the other\u2019s brightness and warmth in the unity of marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gracious God, we are grateful you have created us not as solitary persons destined to live our lives in solitude, but as creatures who are restless until we find wholeness in relationship with you and with other people. We celebrate today the pinnacle of human relationships as Joe and Allie have declared before this gathering of families and friends their sacred intentions to live their lives as one\u2014as husband and wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We give thanks for your gift of love, which brought Allie and Joe into being and which binds their hearts together as husband and wife. As they enter into the privileges, the joys and the responsibilities of life\u2019s most sacred relationship, and begin together the great adventure of building a Christian home, we thank you for the hope that makes their future look bright. We pray in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie and Joe, inasmuch as you have declared your willingness and intention to enter the state of marriage with each other, and have declared the same in the company of God and these witnesses, and have given these rings to each other, and have lit the Unity Candle to signify your commitment to each other, I pronounce you husband and wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now you will feel no California rain<\/p>\n\n\n\n for each of you will be shelter for the other;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now you will feel no Maine cold<\/p>\n\n\n\n for each of you will be warmth for the other;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now there is no more loneliness<\/p>\n\n\n\n for each of you will be companion for the other;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now you are two families<\/p>\n\n\n\n but there is only one life before you;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go now to your dwelling place<\/p>\n\n\n\n to enter into the days of your togetherness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n May your days be good and long upon the earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And now may the presence of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you and abide with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, it is my privilege and joy to introduce to you for the first time, \u201cMr. and Mrs. Joseph and Allison Shubert!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Embrace and Kiss<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recessional<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Postlude<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe and Emily Chan<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organist: Joy Shih Ng<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officiating Minister: Rev. Donald Ng<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Saturday, April 27, 2002 11:00 AM Foothill Covenant Church Los Altos, California Prelude Lighting the Candelabras\u2014Ushers Robbie Fong & Jaime Fong Seating of Mother Emily Chan by RobbieMessage to Allie and Joe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
[Step up to platform]<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Declaration of Intent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Exchange of Vows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Exchange of Rings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Unity Candle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Wedding Prayer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Declaration of Marriage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Presentation of the Bride and the Groom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n