Marriage

The Catholic Religion considers marriage a sacrament and weddings are often held in churches. I am now a wedding officiant, and have licence to also conduct funerals. I have lots of experience attending weddings and planning a few. I have lots of experience in counseling and listening to problems with relationships. But I do not have a degree in divinity and I am not an ordained minister. I simply applied to the The First National Church in America which has a Navajo background. Because of freedom of religion, anyone can be a minister. I have deep religious convictions, so I do not take this lightly. Maybe my romantic notions compelled me to become certified to perform weddings. So now I must register in the State when I want to conduct a ceremony. Also a couple must get a license which takes a couple days- so no shotgun weddings! I would most certainly want to meet with a couple first and I would not do a ceremony if there were doubts about compatibility. Now, I have a yearning to save a church on Main Street Ashtabula to make into a wedding chapel. It will cost 15K which is tempting , but it will cost 50K to make repairs. Anyone want to invest? I hate to see it demolished, but I am sure there are plenty of healthy and struggling churches that might be happy to have my attention and talents. This transition will be an interesting one.