Conference yukon::christian_v7

    
    Thomas,
    
    Before you marry why don't you understand why these churches won't
    marry you?  Then consider very carefully in light of God's Word whether 
    you may marry.
    
    You can find anyone to sanction anything if you look hard enough.  But
    it is God's sanctioning that we should desire, not mans nor our own.
    
    jeff

     I don't know the exact official teachings of the Methodist church.
     Like many churches, I expect that individual congregations can 
     vary greatly according to the people in them and the leadership of
     the congregation, especially the pastor.  The Methodist church 
     is a Protestant Christian denomination originally developed from 
     the teachings of John and Charles Wesley, and is marked by an emphasis
     on free grace and individual responsibility.  I think today they 
     may have a tendency to be somewhat liberal, but again, I think there
     is probably individual differentiation amongst the the congregations
     belonging to the denomination.  You might want to meet with the pastor
     of the one in which you are thinking of having your wedding ceremony
     performed.

     I wish you well in your forthcoming marriage.  May God bless you as
     you prepare for both the wedding and all that the covenant relation
     between you and your wife to be entails.

     Mazel Tov,

     Leslie

My maternal grandparents were Methodists, but I'm afraid I don't know very 
much about Methodism, beyond what Leslie entered.  They are, I believe 
the closest denomination to the Church of England, in form.

As Leslie said, their basis of faith is, I believe, sound (ie, Biblically 
based), but there is some divergence in practise.

May God bless you both.

					In Jesus' love
							Andrew

What is your girlfriend's own church in England?

What is your own church in Germany?  What was your ex-wife's own church?

If you or your ex-wife are Roman Catholic, you should be able to get an
annulment from your local diocese.  An annulment is a declaration of nullity,
a declaration that you were never actually married because of some impediment,
i.e., you were immature, or insincere, or psychologically unable to actually
form the sacramental bond of Christian marriage.

Once you have this declaration that you were never married before, you
can then use it to permit marriage in either the Roman Catholic Church
in England or the Church of England (Anglican Church).

/john

Hi everybody,

thank's a lot for your answers and wishes.

My girlfriend belongs to the Church of England.
I'm protestant and my ex-wife is catholic.
We married in church and the ceremonie was �konomisch
(this mean protestant and catholic can marry in catholic church)

The priest of the Church of England said absolutly NO
when we ask him if he would marry us.
The reason : i'm devorced.
He will never accept the translated devorce papers (this are the
papers i got from court and not from the church).
In Germany you can only get devorced by court and the protestant
church is not interessed in.

The protestants in Germany don't need any declaration of nullity if we
want to marry again in church; also this declaration is in the protestant
church unknown.

The reason why we want to get married in the church is that we want 
to start our life together with the sanction of GOD.

regards

Thomas

>My girlfriend belongs to the Church of England.

As a Catholic Church, the Church of England does not permit its members
to marry someone who has been divorced.  However, it does recognize an
annulment granted by a Catholic marriage tribunal, if the grounds for
the annulment appear to be sufficient.

Otherwise, your girlfriend's church will always consider her marriage
to you to be invalid.

>I'm protestant and my ex-wife is catholic.

Then you should go with your ex-wife to the Roman Catholic diocesan
offices and apply for an annulment.  Your ex-wife will need this anyway
if she ever intends to marry in the church.

>We married in church and the ceremony was �konomisch

�kumenisch, not �konomisch.

>The priest of the Church of England said absolutly NO when we ask him if
>he would marry us.  The reason : i'm divorced.

That's right.  He can't.  But with a declaration of nullity, you are no
longer divorced; you were never married.

>He will never accept the translated devorce papers (this are the
>papers i got from court and not from the church).

This is why you have to get annulment papers from the Roman Catholic Church.
These papers can then be shown to the Church of England bishop, and you can
be married in the Church of England, since you are now no longer a divorced
person, but rather a person who never really got married.

/john

    Re: Note 678.5 by FSTSC1::SCHOEN
    
>The reason why we want to get married in the church is that we want 
>to start our life together with the sanction of GOD.
    
    Is a marriage performed in the church "more" under God's sanction than
    a marriage performed out of the church?  Surely you'd experience more
    sanction by the group of God's people at a church... but is there any
    scriptural reason why a wedding should happen at a gathering of the
    saints, so to speak?  And would it affect God's view on the marriage?
    
    James

    	Actually, James, they aren't looking for God's sanction as much
    	as they are looking for the sanction of a certain Church.  The
    	Church doesn't marry people so much as people marry themselves and
    	it is merely witnessed (and sanctioned) by the Church.
    
    	If one truly believes that a particular faith expression is God's
    	true representation on Earth, then having to seek out and settle
    	for the sanction of a different faith expression is probably not 
    	going to sit well in that person's conscience.  I agree with John
    	that the situation discribed here can be resolved for this couple.

    Hi Thomas
    
    I was brought up in the Methodist church and was a member until I was
    about 25.
    
    The basic doctrine of the Methodists is very sound and Bible based, the
    church being established by John Wesley, a key figure in the history of
    revival in Britain (he is accepted across the denominations as being a
    mighty man of God). Historically, the methodists were always noted for
    their spirituality and devotion to God but during this century they seemed
    to lose their fire and become incredibly "religeous". Over the last
    few years some methodist churches have been revived and it seems that
    quite a few are getting quite "with it" again. I guess it's the same in
    most denominations - some churches are alive and kicking, some are
    sleeping.
    
    I think the only doctrines that the Methodists have that would raise
    some heated debate in this conference are that they practise infant
    baptism and they ordain women as ministers.
    
    If you have any other questions that I haven't answered please give me
    a call or mail me and I'll do my best to help
    
    Love
    ben
    
    P.S. I think you may find that some Pentecostal churches will marry you
    (ie Elim or Assemblies of God)but don't quote me on that.
    
     

    RE: Assemblies of God reference in -1
    
    The stance of the Assemblies of God is that divorce and subsequent
    remarriage is against Biblical teaching.  Within the ministry divorce
    and remarriage is grounds for dismissal (non-renewal might be more
    polite).  While divorce may be unavoidable, divorce and remarriage is
    in violation of Paul's guidelines to Timothy for church leadership. If 
    a minister does get divorced then he or she must remain unmarried until 
    the death of the spouse or he/she will forfeit their credentials.  
    However it is recognized that divorce and remarriage is a reality in
    today's world and every effort is put forth to receive and welcome the 
    couple as a part of the church.  Marrying a couple where one or both 
    have a prior living spouse is not forbidden to AG ministers but it is 
    at the discretion of individual pastor and many will not.  The Church 
    of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) holds the same doctrine but the Four Square
    (Jack Hayford's denomination) split from the Assemblies of God over this 
    very issue when Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the Four Square 
    denomination got a divorce and remarried.
    
    Kent