Welcoming Equal Marriage at First Christian Church, Des Moine IA
Rev. Ryan Arnold, Pastor of the First Christian Church of Des Moines, IA, sent us this article written by two of his congregants. About this article he tells us that “When I arrived at First Christian Church Des Moines in June of 2013, Iowa was one of only a few states where marriage was legal and just for all people. I knew officiating out-of-state same-gender marriages would be in my immediate future; however, I was surprised to find members of the congregation had already and quite spontaneously adopted a loving ministry toward these strangers in our midst. What follows is a first person account of ministry by two angels of hospitality.”
By Juanita Scriven and Jane Craiger
First Christian Church of Des Moines, Iowa, has always been a welcoming congregation. Five to six years ago we began to seriously consider what a radical welcoming church looked like in reality. After a congregational study of the book Radical Welcome by Stephanie Spellers, by consensus we decided to reach out in an intentional way to be inclusive to those who are societally disinherited.
One of the areas we embraced was the area of hosting same-sex couples wanting a permanent legal marital relationship. Iowa’s status of same-sex marriage legality gave First Christian Church the opportunity to provide active hospitality for couples desiring legal marital status.
First Christian Church began to receive inquiries about our availability to perform wedding ceremonies. Our pastors answered with a positive welcoming response. This resulted in a number of couples contacting the church desiring their wedding ceremonies to be held at our church.
Juanita and I, along with other members, were invited to be part of the marriage ceremonies, serving as witnesses. We were a supportive community, living out our call to be a welcoming presence for our church.
On the day of the first ceremony, we had many emotions. We felt a sense of joy, a sense of affirmation, and a sense of God’s Grace. The ceremony itself was personal, warm and heartfelt. The couple’s joy was obviously apparent. We were personally touched to be a part of this unique ceremony. Our lives were forever enriched by this experience.
The experience opened our eyes to the many injustices of the world. How blessed we were to be a part of this joyous occasion.
As we listened to their life stories, at lunch after the ceremony, we rejoiced with them in their new life together.
Each ceremony that we witnessed after that, was a new and different experience that was equally memorable. Some couples brought their children to be part of the ceremony, some brought special music, and some brought other friends, all from out of state. All were unique and loving.
We feel blessed to have had this opportunity to live out God’s love. The experiences we had, representing First Christian Church of Des Moines, were a reaffirmation of God at work in our lives.