The Parish Marriage Register - Rector's Rambling for June 22, 2014

Last weekend we retired a parish register.  Every parish church has a book, or books, for recording baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials.  It is one way that the church keeps track of her members, and becomes a great historical resource as well.

On June 14, I officiated at the wedding of Brian and Stephanie (Johnson) Lang.  As with all marriages, it was entered into the parish register.  It was the last space in the book that began with a wedding on March 17, 1956 (Mr. Robert Allen Herd and Miss Marie Pauline Dancier).  The officiant was The Rev’d. I. C. Johnson, rector of St. John’s from 1934 to 1962.

That first wedding in the book is number 3026 in the history of St. John’s.  The wedding last weekend was number 3421.  That means in 58 years there have been 395 weddings at St. John’s for an average of nearly seven weddings a year.  Since 1859 the parish has averaged 22 weddings a year, a number elevated from years like 1926 when 60 couples were married at St. John’s!

This register will now be put in storage in the office, and will be used to answer requests about family histories and inquiries for proof of marriage.