June 19, 2004<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4:00 PM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First Chinese Baptist Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n
San Francisco<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prelude <\/strong> Joy Shih Ng<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lighting of Candles<\/strong> Marissa, Courtney, Leslie,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy and Shirlene<\/p>\n\n\n\n Air on G String<\/strong> J.S. Bach Joy<\/p>\n\n\n\n Welcome<\/strong> Pastor Don Ng<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends, this is a day of new beginnings. Randy and Shirlene have traveled many roads separately, but today they join hands and hearts to travel a new road together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we are on a journey, we know that getting there is just as important as the destination. When we are attentive along the way, the landscape is not blurred, but there are timeless treasures to be discovered. We also know that no matter where our journey takes us, as persons of faith and in love, we never walk alone. Today you have taken a momentary stop to discover the treasure of marriage and to travel together for the rest of your lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We who are your beloved children, families and friends are here to bless your new journey together; in fact, it\u2019s so exciting that we hope there will be times when we can come along on the journey with you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy and Shirlene, as you make this stop on your journey that you have started many years ago with the vows you shared in 1999 at the eve of the new millennium when you were in Nepal and the joint vows on New Year\u2019s Day in 2000, I remind you of the forgiveness that you have received in the love and grace of God, the wisdom you have gained in the years of abundant living, the attentiveness you have learned by taking time to notice the world in which you live and the unfailing companionship with God that you have enjoyed. These are all gifts that you have on your journey. May these insights from the past guide you in the future as you travel a new road together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O God of love and life, we know your wonderful ways have brought us to this place. Today we acknowledge your presence in our lives. We are here to enjoy how Randy and Shirlene\u2019s once separate paths have now crossed. We share with all who can hear, that from this day forward, your continuing blessings will move with us together on yet another path\u2014a path that is constantly unfolding with beauty and grace. In the name of Christ who unites us in love, Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scripture<\/strong> 1 Corinthians 13 Leslie<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharing <\/strong> Marissa<\/p>\n\n\n\n Poem by Randy and Shirlene<\/strong> Courtney<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is love, it is joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is us, together, making we<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we weave the tapestry<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compose the symphony<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sculpt the object of our love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All our world\u2019s a stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fragrant Mother Earth<\/p>\n\n\n\n The glistening sea at dawn and dusk<\/p>\n\n\n\n The flowers and leaves and trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where we vow to promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Journeying together, dancing the dance<\/p>\n\n\n\n Singing<\/p>\n\n\n\n Celebrating the health and happiness<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of family and friends<\/p>\n\n\n\n We marry in joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wedding Thoughts<\/strong>\u2014A Turn in the Road Pastor Don<\/p>\n\n\n\n We who are here are not children. We know a little bit about life. If you are like me, we take the same freeway and streets to work. We eat the same dinner every other night in a row. We may be ready to change our predictable lifestyle for something different, something that will change our habits before they become too much a part of the only person we can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marriage will change habits. It will mark a turn in the road. When you were in Katmandu, Nepal, you decided in the midst of God\u2019s majestic mountains and natural wonders that you want to make a turn in the road from being two friends traveling through Nepal to becoming life-long companions traveling together to see the rest of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God blessed you with an epiphany revealing to you that the love that you have for each other is made from above and lived out by you on earth. Since you first shared your vows in Nepal, you have experienced many more times when God is continuing to guide you in making promises to each other. Today as you stand together in this sacred space, you are also affirming the rich heritage that the church has in the life that you have chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the prophet Jeremiah 6:16 when the people were lost in following God\u2019s ways, God said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the<\/p>\n\n\n\n ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and find rest for your souls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You strike me as people who are always ready for another adventure at the crossroads of life. Randy, this is for real unlike a stage production. Shirlene, this is real straight out of the textbook of life. When you travel to new places in Europe, in Asia or to the undiscovered treasures in San Francisco, you will no doubt, make many more turns in the road. There, you may be surprised in what you may find. Trekking on the ancient paths around the world, you will discover the good ways. Walking on these ancient paths, you will find rest for your souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marriage is like that. You are not taking the same old road anymore. We know that there\u2019s nothing magnificent about changing route all by itself. But sometimes when we do, glory is around the corner. And I believe that is the case for you today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as you share your vows once again in the presence and witness of your families and friends, you are taking yet another turn in the road. From the perspective of the State of California, you will become husband and wife. In the tradition of the Christ\u2019s church, you are God\u2019s beloved children with love that \u201cbears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.\u201d In the eyes of your children, families, and friends, you are continuing to be Randy and Shirlene whose love and faithfulness to each other make us filled with joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n May God bless you on the new journey that you are taking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Vows<\/strong> Randy & Shirlene<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n My vow. The Sanctity of Marriage<\/p>\n\n\n\n With our daughters in Nepal. 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n December 31, 1999<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shirlene Leong<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy Nakano<\/p>\n\n\n\n I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eternity, Forever. In matrimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marriage of my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our temporal bodies and<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spiritual promise together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The God in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The profound bond of us in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truth be it known, it is so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With proud honor, I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because it is so. (Katmandu, Nepal, December 31, 1999)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shirlene\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n I. Shirlene, join with you, Randy<\/p>\n\n\n\n As husband and wife,<\/p>\n\n\n\n As partners in life, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n As close friends and companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will love you always,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to your heart, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hold precious all that is dear to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I promise to take care of you and<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be with you<\/p>\n\n\n\n In all of our life experiences<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, tomorrow and always. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Katmandu, Nepal, December 31, 1999)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joint Vows\u2014Oath, Ceremony, Commitment<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy\u2014Hark the Herald<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raise the trumpets high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We make this proclamation<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before our family and friends and<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before our loving God:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shirlene\u2014We commit our love to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We promise everything\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n To support and to care for each other faithfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To hold precious what is dear to the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create a new home and hearth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We weave our lives together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hand in hand, we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charge to Daughters<\/strong> Randy & Shirlene<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy\u2014We ask our daughters to join<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shirlene\u2014in our joining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy\u2014We ask our daughters to promise<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shirlene\u2014in our promising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy\u2014We ask our daughters to share<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shirlene\u2014in our sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy\u2014We ask our daughters to love<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shirlene\u2014in our loving<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy& Shirlene\u2014We ask of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy\u2014Do you say \u201cNay\u201d or \u201cHooray?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exchange of Rings<\/strong> Randy & Shirlene<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wedding Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gracious God, we are grateful that 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 like on top of Katmandu as Randy and Shirlene declared before this gathering of families and friends their sacred intentions to live their lives as one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We give thanks for your gift of love, which brought Randy and Shirlene into being and which binds their hearts together. As they enter into the joys and responsibilities of life\u2019s most sacred responsibilities, and begin the adventure of building a new home together, we thank you for the hope that makes their future so bright and beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of us know what is the next turn in the road is for them. We ask only that they may love, honor, and cherish each other, in all of life\u2019s challenges and circumstances, its joys and sorrows. May they live together in faithfulness and patience, in understanding and forgiveness, that their home becomes a haven of blessing for themselves and for Marissa, Courtney and Scott, Leslie, Hong, and Kate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teach them the fine art of living together in loving and being loved, accepting and being accepted, forgiving and being forgiven. Be their guest at every meal, their guide in every trip they take, their counselor in every stage of life. Graciously grant them your mercy, that in the world to come, they may have life everlasting. We pray in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hymn<\/strong> Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (1, 2, 4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Declaration of Marriage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Randy and Shirlene, inasmuch as you have consented in holy marriage, and have reaffirmed your vows in the sight of these families and friends, and have exchanged rings, by virtue of the authority vested in me, a minister of the gospel, I pronounce you husband and wife, united in the holy bonds of marriage, in the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Benediction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord bless you and keep you to weave the tapestry, compose the symphony and sculpt objects of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord make his face to shine upon you just like the fragrant Mother Earth brings forth the dawn and the dusk, the flowers and the trees and be gracious to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord lift up his countenance upon you so that you may journey at the turn in the road to dance, sing, and celebrate with your families and friends in joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord give you peace on this happy day and forevermore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pronouncement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hark the Herald!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raise the trumpets high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is my great pleasure to introduce to you for the first time, \u201cRandy and Shirlene Leong Nakano!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Announcements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Family will stay to take pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Champagne Reception staring at 5:30 at Harbor Village Restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Validated parking is available at Embarcadero Four at the end of Clay Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Postlude<\/strong> Joy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" June 19, 2004 4:00 PM First Chinese Baptist Church San Francisco Prelude Joy Shih Ng Lighting of Candles Marissa, Courtney, Leslie, Randy and Shirlene Air on