Welcome to Wed Talks! We have produced 24 short “talks” based on the service of Holy Matrimony from the Anglican Church in North America (known also as ACNA).
My name is Stephen Noll, I shall be your host for these talks. I serve as the Chairman of the ACNA’s Task Force on Marriage, Family, and the Single Life, and I was involved in the production of the new service.
The purpose of Wed Talks is to explain to couples preparing for marriage and their priest or pastor the meaning of the service of holy matrimony. These talks are not an entire program of preparation for marriage. There are many specific matters concerning sex, relatives, money and communication which are not addressed here. However, I do think that Wed Talks will give an overview of many important principles of Christian marriage that will be valuable to couples before and after the wedding day.
Wed Talks will follow the order of marriage found in the liturgy of Holy Matrimony of the Anglican Church in North America. You may find it helpful to have a copy of this service in front of you as you listen. You may obtain the text by downloading it from the ACNA website, or you may obtain a lovely Presentation Booklet published for the church by Anglican House Media Ministry. The booklet includes marriage certificates and can be retained as a memento of your wedding. As we proceed, I shall be referencing parts of the service by page numbers in this booklet.
Although Wed Talks and the Holy Matrimony service are aimed at members of the Anglican Church in North America, others may freely use the materials. The basic principles of marriage apply to other Christian churches and traditions, and the talks may be helpful even if you are using another marriage liturgy – or none at all.
Let me hasten to add that Wed Talks is my own interpretation of marriage and not an official teaching of the Anglican Church in North America. You or your priest or pastor may feel free to discuss or disagree with certain points. To aid in this discussion, I have added a discussion question or two after each talk.
To find the text of these talks, along with supplemental materials, please go to the Wed Talks link on the ACNA website.
