Saturday

OMG... It's like the summer has returned here in Tokyo.
It is OCTOBER!!!! Come on!!! Can we go into a typical fall weather where it's nice and cool???
I mean really...

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Since returning to Japan, I started working for a "Christian" style wedding service here in Tokyo.
The word "Christian" is very loosely used here...

Weddings are done in chapels at different hotels around town, along with many wedding banquets that are around.

The company, which I belong, provide a celebrant/pastor(some ordained, many are trained, you know like took an online course per se. But not really an online course, these folks go through a course given by the company). Many of these celebrants/pastors are foreigners, i.e. Americans,  English, Aussies, Spanish(I know there is one), etc., and of course Japanese.

It is quite interesting at first(to some extent, still is very much interesting) to see this "Christian" style chapel weddings and be involved.
Most of our customers wants that "feeling".  You know, that whole foreign feeling(I'm gonna omit the word American, because that's not quite right) of doing it the Western way.
Of course, even in America, not everyone gets married in a church.
But the tough part is, these folks want "Christian" style wedding in a chapel without so much of the "God" aspect of it...
I'm not gonna get into it too deeply here.

I am not completely a Christian.
What I mean is that I am not baptised.
But, I worked and attended churches when I was in US for many years(about 20 years).
The denomination I feel most comfortable is at an Episcopal Church, because I worked and attended it for the longest.
I enjoy the service, the hymns and anthems, the people, and of course learning and talking and practicing our faith and teaching of Christ.
But these weddings... Oy vey... I'm not gonna say it because God is everywhere and is in each one of our souls.

I digress...

I have worked with this company doing weddings over the weekend for the past year.
There are some crazy(and I mean CRAZY) times, to the point where I go "Really? REALLY???".
Of course, there are many beautiful moments(it is a wedding after all...) all fit in to a short 20 mins.
So short compare to what I am used to in real church weddings.
But, to see the faces of the bride and groom's parents... Their joy and tears, the bittersweet moment where the father of the bride walks down his daughter down the aisle.
To see both mothers of the bride and the groom crying.
Their family members, relatives, friends, coworkers, who came to celebrate their very special moment in their life starting together as one.
It is quite heartfelt and awe inspiring.
Not often but we are moved by seeing the happy couple and their loving family.

As much complaining I do regarding my weekend job, I enjoy it all the same.
One problem would be that, depending on a schedule, there could be upwards of 10 weddings in a day or more.
This can take some toll on my voice...
And doing that for two or three days, well that can be very tiring.
Oh well, I must do something to get paid.

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I hope everyone is staying cool where ever you are.
I am praying here that the temp will go down a bit so that I won't be sweating like a whore in church...


May God bless you and keep you
May his face shine upon you and bring you peace...
Amen






P.S.
Wait, can do that after the whole "whore in church" phrase???
Bah! Who cares, I am an Episcopalian after all...