Humorous Wedding Ceremony Persuasive Speech

The stillness of the empty church shattered as fifteen-year-old MaryAnn Levin brushed her fingertip over the ivory organ key. The worn burgundy bench creaked as she sat upon it and poised her fingers over the keyboard. The eerie shrill from the organ resounded off of the creamy walls of Bethany Lutheran Church and the mellow tune of “His Eye is on the Sparrow” drifted around the vacant pews and over the crimson carpet.The words of the melody, which were singing in her heart, brought comfort to her fluster. It was October of 1945 and the Second World War, which had been raging among the nations for the past six years, had been brought to a screeching halt just a month previous. Troops were streaming back to MaryAnn’s hometown of St. Helens,
Friends and family of the bride and groom congregated in the small sanctuary of Bethany Lutheran and watched as the handsome couple embarked on a new chapter of their lives as Mr. and Mrs. William O. Hammerbeck.
Houston, Texas didn’t exactly greet the newlyweds with all of the glory and happiness a young couple deserves. A few months into settling in, MaryAnn received word that her dad had suddenly passed away of a massive heart attack. She immediately flew black out to Oregon to make arrangements and also stay with her mom for several months. In 1953, Bill was transferred to Denver, Colorado and the two were reunited.
On April 20th of 1954, the two had their first child, a girl whom they named Susan. That same year Bill was discharged from the army and they moved back to Portland where Bill set up shop as a stockbroker. In 1957, they related joyous news to their family: they were to have another child! Linda was born on the 28th of September in 1957. A few years later, they welcomed their first boy into the family. Mark came along on the November 4th, 1960. Mark was delight to the whole family. Though he was born with cognitive disabilities and an enlarged heart, none of his impairments haltered the surge of love the little family felt for him. When Mark died of heart failure in 1963, everybody was crushed. Each family member experienced their own unique chapter of grief. Though the road to
Bill would often bring home lonely bachelors from work for a good meal, and MaryAnn would nourish that need by preparing a filling meal. When Bill and MaryAnn became one of five families to start a church plant in 1959, MaryAnn found herself doing the same thing. She had always loved befriending new people, especially those who were outcasts, and this provided an excellent opportunity to do this. She extended her hand to people in the church who were on the fringes and included them by inviting them over and arranging a dinner for them. It was a simple ministry, but one that strongly impacted the lonely hearts.
The years whisked by, coupled with happiness, as MaryAnn watched her kids grow up. Susan was married to her college sweetheart in 1975, and Linda married a guy from their church in 1986. In the early 1980’s Bill and MaryAnn packed up camp and brought the remaining family back out to Warren where both Susan and Linda ended up later settling with their families. There, Bill and MaryAnn once again were apart of a church plant- Warren Community Fellowship- where MaryAnn continued to befriend many while bringing love into the lives of others who needed connection and