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“Marriage should be
honoured by all.”
Hebrews 13:4a

CHURCH WEDDINGS
Pastor John Ekudu
Does it always have to be a church wedding preceding any Christian
marriage or do Christians have other valid options to start their
marriage? Pastor John Ekudu shares his thoughts.
1. Planning weddings today seems like a hassle. How was your experience
planning yours?
It was a very simple wedding. These days I see people putting up big weddings
and there is a lot of fundraising. Our wedding was relatively big by the standard
then because we had 300 guests but we didn’t fundraise for it. Grace and I were
friends for five years and we decided in those five years to collect whatever we
needed for the wedding. So we bought our clothes, collected ingredients for
cakes and everything else and by the time we went to the wedding we had what
we needed and some money. All we needed was a committee to help organize
the wedding but not to fundraise. The entire function cost us 11,000 Uganda
shillings.
2. Most Christians believe that a church wedding is the right way to start a
marriage. Is a church wedding a biblical requirement before two people
become husband and wife?
Not really! A wedding is a ceremony while a marriage is a lifelong institution.
Wedding or marriage ceremony is what is carried out by Church on behalf of
Government. There are three ways of getting married. First, you can get married
traditionally where you go to the girl’s home and they give her away and issue
you a letter stating that the girl has been given away. Most people stop at this
level without getting a marriage government certificate. In this case, marriage is
basically an agreement with the parents in the presence of witnesses and there-
after, she is your wife.
November 2018, Issue 79
individuals only get a church certificate. With that church certificate you cannot
have claim over someone being your husband or wife. For example if you want a
travel document, the church certificate will not be recognized as you being
husband and wife unless you produce a government certificate. So, as far as
Government is concerned, if I haven’t got a government certificate, I may say
Grace is my wife but somebody else can come and take her because according to
Government, she is not legally my wife. A wedding therefore is a ceremony,
where you go to church and it is presided over by the pastor. This can also be
done in the village or at Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and, as
long as you get a government certificate, it is valid.
However, I personally would not recommend any Christian to have a civil
wedding or marriage because of the mentality that Christians have that the
ceremony carried out in church is better or holier. This makes some people go to
government institutions like URSB, wed, and then go to church just so they can
have their marriage blessed.
3. 1 Peter 2:9 declares all believers a royal priesthood. Why can’t any believer
officiate a wedding?
Anyone would, but the church marries on behalf of Government which gives
conditions regarding the people who can officiate a wedding. You must have a
licenced building, you must be licensed as an individual and you must also have
some theological training. Otherwise, anyone could conduct a wedding.
I would like to point out that a church wedding could be carried out in a garden
or beach so long as the place is licenced by Ministry of Justice and so long as it is
done by a licenced person.

“
Most of what we call Christian
weddings in Kampala and
Uganda are not valid
Secondly, you could marry at the district office. The Chief Administrative Officer
(CAO) or somebody can wed you after the agreement with the parents. The
district office also puts up a three weeks marriage ban saying so and so intends
to marry so and so, asking if there is any reason why the intended couple should
not be married; like it is done in the church. If no one objects, the CAO will wed
you.

The third form is the one conducted at church. The Church weds you on behalf of
Government and it is done between 8:00am and 6:00pm in a church building
licenced by Government and by a licenced person. Any wedding in a church
building which does not comply with the above conditions is not valid.
Unfortunately, most of what we call Christian weddings in Kampala and Uganda
are not valid. We go to church, pray, put rings on your finger and pronounce you
Some of the pastors’ couples who attended a marriage renewal
conference facilitated by John and his wife, Grace.
 John Ekudu is a retired Dean of Students, Makerere University.
 He is the president of the Baptist Union of Uganda.
 He retired from Entebbe Baptist Church and currently pastors

wedded but it is all not valid because most times the building is not licenced and
the person doing it is not licenced. Kampala Baptist Church is licenced and
Pastor Andrew is licenced; so, if he officiates a wedding between 8:00am and
6:00pm, it will be legal.
Now, when you wed in a licenced church and by a licenced person, you will be
given two certificates. One is a church certificate and the other is a government
certificate. People who wed in a church with no licence and by unlicenced
Kaberamaido Baptist Church.
 He is married to Grace Ekudu and together they have 4 children
and one grandchild.
The KEY RING is a monthly publication by the Kampala Baptist Church Media Team
that seeks to provide an avenue where men and women can share knowledge and
understanding of the word of God, experiences and encourage one another as the
older perform the act of ‘paralambano’ to the younger.
Our prayer is that the Lord will speak to you through this publication.

Drop us an email at kbcmediateam@gmail.com | Visit the church website at www.kbcuganda.org