Write your own Wedding Prayer!

William and Kate are not alone in the trend

When Prince William and Kate Middleton married last month, their self-composed wedding prayer was read from the pulpit by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. Similar initiatives are taking place throughout Denmark, despite there being no place for unauthorised prayers in the official wedding ritual.

 

An individual touch
According to Ulla Morre Bidstrup, who teaches Liturgy at the Theological College of Education in Aarhus, some pastors on occasion allow such personal wedding prayers. Speaking to the Christian Daily she predicts that the trend will grow for both couples and pastors. “The desire to add an individual touch is present in every conceivable context these days, from design to religion.  And in relation to the church it creates a particular tension, for the ritual is the opposite of the individual,” she says. “However, I’d be happier if the church composed new prayers which allowed for individual formulations.”'

 

Ulla Morre Bidstrup points to the probable change in the ritual when the church wedding of homosexuals is eventually passed into law, as she thinks it will be. ”Then we shall have to change the present ritual in some way, since it refers throughout to a man and a woman. We are currently working on a new prayer book which contains specific prayers related to weddings and funerals.”

 

Stick to the ritual!
Asked to comment, Bent Flemming Nielsen, from the Department of Systematic Theology at Copenhagen University is less enthusiastic. “The strength of the rituals is that you know what is coming, and their wording lifts us above everyday speech. Why individualise that?”

 

Photo: sxc.hu

By: Edward Broadbridge

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