Manhattan's Marriage Summit Pastoral Blessing and Re-Dedication Ceremony

On May 27, we at the Family Church of New York in Manhattan hosted a Blessing Ceremony titled “The Marriage Summit Pastoral Blessing and Re-Dedication Ceremony” for 10 participating couples and about 15 additional guests.

It really turned out to be a great night. The room was decorated beautifully, with a luscious looking cake. The food was catered and it was absolutely delicious!

The program began with praise and worship, led by Evangelist Cabbagestalk of Queens. She and her husband were two of the Blessing participants. A lecture on True Family Values by Rev. Bruce Grodner followed, along with a showing of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) video, “The Power of Love.”

My husband, Bishop Jesse Edwards, then gave a short explanation of the meaning and purpose of the Holy Wine, followed by a toast to true life, love, and lineage, a love song, and the actual ceremony with the couples. Bishop Edwards and I were the officiators. We then cut the cake, ate dinner, and ended the night with dancing.

There were a couple of people, a man and a woman, that Joy Theriot brought and they told her that they had googled “Rev. Sun Myung Moon” and didn’t like what they read. Her response was to stop the googling and come to the event to see for themselves. After the presentations, and when it was time for the participants to come up for the ceremony, these two people, with smiles, came right up to the front to participate. After the ceremony, they, along with our other attendees, were laughing and talking and having a great time.

In our church on Sunday, June 25, we will bless all the couples who come to service. By July, I want to have all our families blessed, including the children. With this in mind, I’m hoping to reach out to those who no longer attend our services or don’t attend regularly and to reach out to younger Unificationists, too. I feel this is necessary because a lot of couples and families are having a lot of difficulties, but we need to get back to the basics, renewing our minds and hearts.

If anyone is interested, I would be happy to share more about our program, ceremony, and pledge for this event. I tried to help pastors feel the value of going to the Blessing, and I truly believe that if we are considerate and honest, we will be able to invite more clergy to participate.

Photos: Graeme Carmichael