A Wedding in Mississippi

So MOST people begin their sabbatical with retreat time.

The first weekend of my sabbatical was filled with officiating and celebrating a wedding.

A wonderful opportunity to SEE a family I had not seen in nearly 10 years hear of their joy and help them celebrate their new chapter in their life.

To get to the wedding, I flew into Memphis, TN and took the time to visit the Loraine Hotel, the place where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assasinated 50 years ago this month. The museum they have created in this space in comprehensive and awe-filling. The story telling was moving and reminds us that the story isn’t over. The entire second museum is about the continuing legacy of MLK and the voices yet to be heard and who are helping to make these stories be heard.

I continued south to Mississippi to rehearse the service and then eat dinner with the wedding party and family at the bride’s grandfather’s home, a big house filled to the brim with family and friends and lots of BBQ.

The next morning we got up and went to Oxford, MS and ate at the Big Bad Breakfast restaurant and then toured the square, I caught up with friends and we dodged raindrops. We were not able to go to the Ajax Diner which employed every member of the bride’s family at one time or another, adopting them in as family.

The wedding was beautiful and joyfilled. A 19th century methodist church was a fun liturgical space for an episcopal wedding complete with Eucharist :). The reception was again at the Bride’s grandfather’s home catered by a restaurant in town whose tradition is to feed the entire staff after closing. All invited to the table to make sure there is at least one good meal in their bellies. It was a kind and wonderful gathering from meal to meal, table to table as we blessed this new couple and refreshed old friendships.