Saturday, December 11, 2004
3:00 PM
Trinity Episcopal Church
San Francisco, California
The Wedding Ceremony
Prelude Joy Shih Ng
Lighting of the Candelabras Danny Wong & Warren Tom
Seating of the Family
Bride’s Grandmother Mrs. Wai Lum Gin Chin by Grandson Jason Hom (Left side facing the front)
Groom’s Parents Lung Kwong and Wai Fong Chow (Right side facing the front)
Bride’s Mother Betty Jin by Son Jeffrey Jin
Lighting of the Candles Mothers Wai Fong Chow
and Betty Jin
Groom’s Men
Pastor Don Ng, Pastor Larry Jay, Groom Johnny Chow, Best Man Alfred Pon, Groom’s Men Anthony Chan, Eric Chan, Dennis Shu, Henry Hue, and Jeff Moy
Processional
Bridesmaids Karen Ng
Kris Smith
Melinda Yee
Courtney Tsunehara
Dana Wong
Matron of Honor Cheryl Ng
Children Naomi Chong & Matthew Ng
Emi Hong & Russell Ng
(Congregation stands.)
Bride Christi Jin with Father Don Jin
Welcome
Welcome to this special day! Please be seated. For the dignity of the service, we ask that all cell phones and pagers be silent at this time. Thank you.
Friends and family, we are here to celebrate with Christi Jin and Johnny Chow the beginning of their journey as husband and wife. In truth, this is not a new journey, but the continuation of a journey begun almost 13 years ago—a journey that commenced in high school that led to the first introduction, a casual conversation, a first date; and grew from there into a friendship, a deep caring and love leading to a desire to share life together.
Christi and Johnny stand here before you to declare that even though they know and love each other profoundly, two additional elements are needed if the commitments made here today are to last for a lifetime. Those two elements are the blessing of God and the support of family and friends.
Christi and Johnny thank each one of you here because you have contributed to their relationship through your love, encouragement, advice, and friendship. One of the greatest joys in life is to have good friends. Christi and Johnny are delighted that all of you are here to witness their marriage because they hold you dear in their hearts.
By celebrating this service of commitment in the sanctity of a church where people of faith gather and in a season of Christmas when we praise God for his gift of Jesus Christ, Savior and Prince of Peace, Christi and Johnny acknowledge their dependence upon God and their conscious invitation for God to be an integral part of their marriage. They humbly ask God to bestow his blessing upon this service, upon their vows and upon their journey as a couple.
Opening Prayer Pastor Larry Jay
Presentation Question
Christi and Johnny deeply appreciate the rich and warm heritage of their families and especially the love and nurture that they have received from their parents. Acknowledging that God has brought together Christi and Johnny, who today has the honor of presenting them to be married today?
(Parents stand up.)
Parents: “We do.”
(Father of the Bride Don Jin embraces and kisses Bride Christi Jin and sits down.)
Appreciation of Parents
As a sign of their love and respect for their parents, Christi and Johnny will present flowers to their mothers and fathers thanking them for guidance, wisdom and protection in life. Each of them came today with one set of parents; each of them will leave with two.
(Step up one step)
Declaration of Intent
Christi and Johnny, in the presence of God and these people, I ask you to declare your intention to enter into covenant with each other through the grace of Jesus Christ.
Christi, will you have Johnny 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?
Christi: “I will.”
Johnny, will you have Christi 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?
Johnny: “I will.”
Scriptures 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 Rebecca Silver
Colossians 3:12-17 Christopher Chin
Song If You See What I See Arlen & Eva Ung
Words to the Couple
Pastor Larry Jay
Deepening Friendships Pastor Don Ng
Christi and Johnny, it is a wonderful privilege to join with you in this joyous occasion of your wedding. This is a holy day because we are asking God to be involved in your marriage and in your new home.
For nearly 13 years, you have known each other—first as just acquaintances that grew steadily into boyfriend and girlfriend. Your friendship grew deeper and richer until the two of you became a couple inseparable from each other’s sight. Soon your close circle of friends began to also believe that the two of you belong together. When they see you by yourself, they would ask about how the other is doing. Although you may have known for some time that you belong together, eventually your friends and parents also came to the full realization that indeed God has made the two of you to become one in Him.
We know that truly healthy and happy marriages are found when the husband and wife are great friends. They not only love each other, they like one another. They want to be together like playing golf and enjoying the great outdoors, to laugh together while traveling to Monterey and Vegas, to work together like the way Johnny likes to cook delicious meals and Christi enjoys eating them, to design a traditional home together to welcome friends over, to start a loving family together because of how both of you love children, to face all of life’s difficulties and blessings together, and yes, even to cry together when the occasion calls for tears. In Proverbs 17:17, it says, “A friend loves at all times…” Be there as a loving friend for one another at all times and in all circumstances.
There is a famous wedding story in the Bible. It’s not really about a wedding so much as Mary’s understanding of Jesus’ ability to take on the ordinary and make it miraculous. When the good wine ran out in Cana, Jesus took something as ordinary as water and turned it into something extraordinary. Your relationship with each other started out just like many other couples did—pretty standard. But then in your trust and faithfulness in Christ, God transformed your typical relationship into something miraculous. But what’s great is that this is not the end of your wedding story but merely the beginning of a more miraculous relationship with each other. Your daily living as ordinary and common as water from the tap will continuously be transformed into a deeper and richer relationship as satisfying as fine wine. And like the wedding at Cana, all the guests, your friends and family will be well-satisfied. Later on today, at your wedding banquet, your love for each other will surely be evident and your guests will be well-satisfied too.
May God continues to bless you and may your deep and caring love for each other sustain you in all the days of life.
Exchange of Vows
Johnny: I, Johnny, take you, Christi,
to be my wife.
In doing so, I give my life to you,
And all that life entails,
To take the good with the bad,
To live with you through hardship and triumph,
To live with you in the commitment of faith,
The security of hope.
And the joy of love.
With my whole heart
And with my complete devotion,
I pledge my love to you.
Christi: I, Christi, take you, Johnny,
to be my husband.
In doing so, I give my life to you,
And all that life entails,
To take the good with the bad,
To live with you through hardship and triumph,
To live with you in the commitment of faith,
The security of hope.
And the joy of love.
With my whole heart
And with my complete devotion,
I pledge my love to you.
Exchange of Rings
For many centuries, a wedding ring has been a symbol of a pledge that those who give a ring intend to live up to the vows and promises made at the time of marriage. A ring is a visible sign of an inward grace which signifies the givers and receivers becoming one in holy marriage through the church of Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. O Lord, enable Christi and Johnny to be aware of this sacred moment when they give evidence of their pledge of love and loyalty to one another. May they know your peace and your favor as they begin their new life together, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Johnny: Christi, I give you this ring
as my promise to be faithful to you
and to try my best,
with God’s help,
to live up to the vows we now take.
With this ring,
I show my willingness to be wed to you,
as long as life shall last.
in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Christi: Johnny, I give you this ring
as my promise to be faithful to you
and to try my best,
with God’s help,
to live up to the vows we now take.
With this ring,
I show my willingness to be wed to you,
as long as life shall last.
in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lighting of the Unity Candle
Christi and Johnny’s mothers lit individual candles to symbolize the precious gift of life that they were given when their children were born. Spanning across the years, they supported Christi and Johnny to this day and will no doubt continue supporting them in the future!
Now Christi and Johnny’s individual lives are joined in marriage symbolized by the Unity Candle. They declare that their new life together will shine in the world with warmth and brightness for many. The Unity Candle, a keepsake for them to relight on their anniversaries now burns, signifying their new, shared married life.
Song We Will Dance Cheryl Ng
Wedding Prayer
God of all joyful things, we relish the warmth of your smile upon Christi and Johnny today. As they lay their lives on the altar of love, give them the deep pleasure of knowing that your will involves their dreams coming true. May their love be patient and kind, that it rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
O God, let us all with joyful hearts celebrate your love for the church made manifest in the love that Christi and Johnny have for each other. May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, teaching us and granting us wisdom so that with gratitude, we may sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God.
Bless this joining of hearts, spirits, families and lives with the delight of your heart. Give Christi and Johnny this joyous moment, etched in their memories, so that they may return to this day time and time again, knowing that it is for this joy that you have brought them together.
We pray all of these things in the spirit of Christ who comes into the world at Christmas bringing good tidings of great joy and peace to all. Amen.
Announcements
Christi and Johnny have requested that all family members remain in the sanctuary for pictures.
Please proceed immediately to the Gold Mountain Restaurant for their Wedding Banquet at 6:00 PM when Christi and Johnny will greet you.
Pronouncement
Christi and Johnny, you planned this special day in order to share with all of us the promises you wanted to make to each other. Now that you have made them, you have chosen to accept both the freedom and responsibilities of holy marriage. Symbolizing these heartfelt vows are the lovely rings on your fingers and the lighting of the Unity Candle. Wherever you may travel through life, you won’t get lost because Christi will always have Triple A maps. And if you are ever separated from each other, Johnny will have that fast-speed DSL connection to get you back together again!
So at this time, with the authority given to me as a Minister of the Christian Gospel, I now declare that you are truly husband and wife.
It is my joy and honor to introduce to you for the very first time: “Johnny and Christi Jin Chow!”
(Embrace and Kiss)
Recessional
Postlude
Service Coordinator: Tiffany Hong
Banquet Coordinator: Janet Choy
Organist: Joy Shih Ng
Officiants: Reverends Larry Jay and Don Ng