{"id":163,"date":"2011-04-27T05:28:37","date_gmt":"2011-04-27T09:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=163"},"modified":"2011-04-25T21:07:55","modified_gmt":"2011-04-26T01:07:55","slug":"no-royal-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/04\/no-royal-wedding.html","title":{"rendered":"No royal wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is my understanding that the Rowan William,\u00a0Archbishop of Canterbury<\/a>, has written two prayers for Prince William and Kate Middleton. \u00a0One is for adults to pray; and the other is a precious and simple prayer for school children. \u00a0Additionally, the Catholic Bishop<\/a>‘s Conference has released a prayer for the nation’s Catholics to pray for the royal couple.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that the world awaits the wedding day on Friday, April 29.<\/p>\n

The women want to see the gown, the flowers, the hairstyles, the carriage and the shoes. The men, who aren’t making money from the Royal Wedding, \u00a0simply want to see the entire thing to be finished. \u00a0This is the fairy-tale event for which every little girl dreams. \u00a0Conversely, it is the event that every red-blooded man dreads.<\/p>\n

Most men and women in the world will not have a royal wedding when they marry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For one reason or the other, they may even choose the simplest, least expensive way to get married. \u00a0I seen the wedding pictures of a good friend several times. \u00a0Now faded, they were taken with an inexpensive Kodak camera. \u00a0The photographer was a friend. \u00a0There are about 10 or 12 pictures.<\/p>\n

The bride wore a lovely, white street-length dress. \u00a0She purchased it at a department store. \u00a0The groom wore a black suit. \u00a0There was one charming bouquet of flowers made of white daisies and fern. \u00a0The bride carried it. \u00a0The best man and maid of honor wore street clothes.<\/p>\n

Only a few months before, the couple had been full-time students and worked 40 hours a week to pay their college expenses.\u00a0\u00a0Together the bride and groom \u00a0planned every detail of the service. \u00a0Together, they pooled their meager finances to be able to give a small honorarium to the pastor conducting the service. \u00a0Because the couple could not afford an elaborate reception, there were simple refreshments after the wedding. \u00a0No champagne toasts were given.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>The nation did not pray for the couple. \u00a0School children didn’t have a prayer to recite at the beginning of the day. \u00a0Yet there was prayer. \u00a0A lot of prayer had ushered this couple into holy matrimony. \u00a0Godly parents had prayed. \u00a0Friends, Bible teachers and pastors had prayed. \u00a0The bride and groom had prayed together and apart.<\/p>\n

Even more, there was a great sense of mission that encircled the wedding pair. \u00a0This man and woman set into motion a great adventure as they founded a ministry within the mentally challenged community called The Special Gathering. \u00a0They began their marriage pouring themselves into the lives of people for whom few people in their city would appreciate or welcome. \u00a0Their members would never marry or have babies. \u00a0For the struggling pair financial benefits were forgotten and sacrifices were made again and again. \u00a0The ministry grew as did their love for each other and the community they serve.<\/p>\n

More than 25 years have passed. \u00a0Now, at least 500 mentally challenged individuals regularly pray for the man they call their pastor and his wife. \u00a0With eight chapel programs, this ministry reaches from Walterboro, South Carolina to Vero Beach, Florida. <\/span><\/p>\n

After the Royal Wedding, the royal couple may live happily ever after. I pray, along with their nation, that they will. \u00a0 However, there is little doubt that Prince William and Kate will not be as loved as the two commoners whose simple wedding day was coupled with the birth of a ministry that would touch thousands of lives within the mentally challenged community.<\/p>\n

What are the similarities or differences between what you believe a marriage should be and the Royal Wedding? \u00a0Will you pray for Prince William and Kate? \u00a0What event initiated your adult journey? \u00a0When you began your journey did you have a relationship with the Lord?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is my understanding that the Rowan William,\u00a0Archbishop of Canterbury, has written two prayers for Prince William and Kate Middleton. \u00a0One is for adults to pray; and the other is a precious and simple prayer for school children. \u00a0Additionally, the Catholic Bishop‘s Conference has released a prayer for the nation’s Catholics to pray for the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,20,3,40,10,16,11,28,12,41],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,18,699,701,691,13,694,19,689,57,56,54,692,55,53,700],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-inspirational","category-intellectual-disability","category-intellectually-disabled","category-mentally-challenged","category-religion","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-discipleship","tag-faith","tag-inspiration","tag-inspirational","tag-intellectual-disabilities","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-prayer","tag-prayer-for-prince-william-and-kate","tag-prince-william-and-kate-middleton","tag-religion","tag-royal-couple","tag-royal-wedding","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nNo royal wedding - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No royal wedding - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is my understanding that the Rowan William,\u00a0Archbishop of Canterbury, has written two prayers for Prince William and Kate Middleton. \u00a0One is for adults to pray; and the other is a precious and simple prayer for school children. \u00a0Additionally, the Catholic Bishop‘s Conference has released a prayer for the nation’s Catholics to pray for the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/04\/no-royal-wedding.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-04-27T09:28:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-04-26T01:07:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/04\/wedding-chapel.jpg-262x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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