| New England's Most
Popular Justice of the Peace/Clergy |
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THE FAMILY MEDALLION EVERYBODY GOT MARRIED
By Honorable Reverend Dennis James Robinson |
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| Of
all the thousands of wedding ceremonies performed, I was under
the impression that I had seen it all.
Ceremonies have varied in emotion over the years.
Some of the most memorable weddings have included rites
of passages selected by the bride and groom, or they have taken
humble advice to include such modalities as mentioning the name
of a loved one either in a nursing home or one who is deceased.
Some have chosen to mention relatives living far away and
unable to be a part of this great festivity.
Some brides and grooms recognize their mothers in a
ceremony by presenting them with a single red rose which is a
symbol of love and nurturing.
Some people cry incessantly when a soloist sings that
special song that makes every emotional tear release itself from
your eyes almost at will. Probably
the most emotional and moving aspect of a wedding ceremony is the
presentation of a FAMILY MEDALLION to a child either from
a former marriage or former relationship. |
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| This
two or three minute presentation and ceremony, which can be
adapted to fit the needs of the wedding couple and time
constraints, has been the most impacted addition to a marriage
ceremony that will probably ever exist. |
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Very
often marriages have prototypically been viewed as the
union of two lives, two hearts and two families united
into one. But
what about the children who witness their mother or
father marrying someone else and they now are forced to
join a new family?
Often these feelings of insecurity or loneliness
are augmented by the fact that an unknowing parent feels
that their child would be best served by giving them an
insignificant title of ring bearer or flower
girl. Most
children then rehearse walking down some sort of aisle
having their picture taken and sit down and remain quiet
and motionless for the duration of the ceremony. |
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| More
than one in four marriages in the United States involve divorced
or widowed people with children.
Yet very few; if any, of the marriage ceremonies
performed by ultra traditional officiates and those of the
uninformed rank and file recognize how the children are feeling
at this time of their lives. |
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| Many
studies have shown that most children accept a parents
remarriage more readily when they feel they have been an
integral part of the wedding plans and are given some tangible
symbol of being loved and embraced by the new person in their
parents lives. |
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| WHAT
IS THE FAMILY MEDALLION? |
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| This
oval pendant with three equally merged circles is a
representation of the marriage union, but the third circle
represents the children that will start this new family from
this day forward. All
circles touch and all circles are the same size or of equal
importance. |
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| The
origin of the Medallion was brought forth by the Reverend Roger
Coleman, Chaplain of Urban Ministry for the Community Christian
Church in Kansas City, MO.
Reverend
Coleman was marrying more and more persons who had
children from previous relationships. It was his experience that the ceremony was one that focused
entirely on the bride and groom and children at the wedding had
a tendency to often act out as a form of need for attention.
The presentation of The Family Medallion leaves children
feeling elated with emotion.
At the reception much attention has been focused on the
children as they beam with pride in showing off their
awards, or as one child put it, My wedding necklace.
Even a year later children are seen wearing their Family
Medallion and showing it to everyone. |
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| Recently
in a Judeo-Christian ceremony with a presentation of two
Medallions to the sons of Peter Isaacson, his bride-to-be, Lynne
Bergstrom of Hopkinton, MA, wanted to show her love for these
two boys by marrying them too.
The boys were slightly fidgety during the beginning of
the ceremony, but when they were presented the Medallions they
were genuinely stunned and overcome with emotion. The entire audience was overcome with emotion and, at times,
I have to restrain myself from weeping openly no matter how many
times this ceremony is included in a wedding. |
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| If
there is music available, whether it be recorded or live, the
children respond motorically to something that is recognizable
to them such as, A Whole New World from Aladdin or a song
from The Lion King. Any one of the Disney songs seems to set such an emotional
ambiance for this aspect of the wedding ceremony. This part of the presentation does not take very long but the
fond memories last forever. |
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| Honorable
Reverend Dennis James Robinson is New England's most popular
Justice/Clergy. |
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Other Articles: |
Selecting
a Wedding Officiant
Memorable
Weddings, Blunders, Bloopers & Mishaps
Interfaith Ceremonies |
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