Before anything else, please know that I’m writing in the perspective of being a Filipino Baptist and married in a Baptist wedding ceremony.
I don’t know how many Baptist couples or officiating ministers have practiced the idea but we definitely reaped the blessings of gathering offering on our wedding day.
I am advocating the gathering of offering instead of the traditional “coin ceremony” portion of the Filipino Baptist wedding because of the following reasons:
Substance and not mere symbols
When we support our brother and sister in Christ who are starting their lives together, it must be expressed in substance and not mere symbols.
I John 3:18 says: Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
The traditional coin ceremony is the part where the groom presents the bride coins (13 pieces gold or silver in Filipino tradition) as symbol of his commitment to give for the bride and family. The coins symbolize abundance in the home that the new couple will build.
In the Convention Baptist tradition, we practise gathering special offering to support delegates attending conventions, camps, and other activities. We also gather special offering to help brethren in need of financial help. Why not gather a special offering to help a couple getting married?
I believe that giving special offering on a wedding day in support of church couple who are starting their lives together would give impact to both the couple and to the church.
Through the church members’ offering, the community spirit in the church is given great substance. It is giving flesh to the traditional giving of “symbolic coins” to represent prosperity.
Wedding is community in worship
The wedding is a sacred ceremony. It is also a gathering of community in worship, witnessing the sanctity of the union of man and woman.
In solidarity with the beginning of new living for the couple, giving your offering for the couple will bless the marriage and the testimony of the church.
When and how the offering will be administered
It shall be done in the “coin ceremony” portion of the wedding.
The officiating minister must give time to explain, why an offering will be gathered instead of the traditional coin ceremony.
He must emphasize that the offering will be given to the couple and will not go to the officiating minister.
Giving offering vs. money dance
I know of many couples who dismissed the idea because they are shy about doing it and they thought it’s not acceptable and “kahuluya”.
Ironically, I saw these couples who did not agree with the idea of gathering offering, doing a money dance during reception.
The money dance is that part of the reception where the couple go dancing at the middle of the reception venue, while guests pin or paste some bills on their dresses.
If wedding is a form of worship, then the giving of offering is an act that every church member will appreciate. For sure, the community will be happy to give because they are blessing a couple’s lives.
My question is which is more acceptable in a Baptist wedding, giving offering or money dance?
Also, is it not more “kahuluya” that for the couple to receive your gift of money, they have to dance for it?
Blessings of Wedding Offering
We could not deny that starting a family, especially today, is quite hard. Imagine the finances that the couple’s families will spend for that special wedding occasion.
Gathering a wedding offering will surely be a great send off for the couple who have decided to seek God’s will in the sanctity of marriage. The generous giver will be blessed more because he or she has participated in starting a Christian home.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
On our wedding day, I and my wife decided to gather a wedding offering in lieu of the traditional “coin ceremony” because of the reasons mentioned above. That wedding offering allowed us to pay all the expenses for that special event, buy basic things to start a home, and open savings account.
Our gratitude to our officiating ministers, Rev. Amsil Alubog and Rev. Melvin Mangana, mga maninoy kag maninay, family and kin, Ajuy Baptist Church, Believers’ Fellowship Church (NTBC) and all brothers and sisters in Christ for unselfishly facilitating and cooperating in that grand memorable event. May the Lord God Almighty bless you and keep you all!
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