Our Wedding: The Ceremony

Kern and I were married at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi.

First Pres is special to me for so many reasons. My parents were married there.  I was raised in this church and went to the Day School.  I was baptized there.  Besides my parents, First Pres (and her pastors, teachers and other members) were the biggest influence on my life as a young person.  It is more than a building to me--but a place on this earth that I treasure.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy Faithfulness!  Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Isaiah 61:10 - 62:5

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
 and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
 and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
 to sprout up before all the nations. For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
 and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
 and her salvation as a burning torch.

The nations shall see your righteousness,
 and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
    that the mouth of the Lord will give.  You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
 and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, 
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you,
 and your land shall be married.  For as a young man marries a young woman,
 so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
 so shall your God rejoice over you.

I love the passage that we chose for the homily because I continually marvel at the last few sentences.  The way that Kern and I feel about one another is the same type of delight that God feels for us--His people.  He rejoices over us.  I want to carry that thought with me throughout my life and marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Kern Hoff, Junior