CENTER TWP — Though no bride and groom would walk down the aisle at Faith United Presbyterian Church, the sermon, readings and hymns sung during Sunday's service reminded many in attendance of the days they took their own vows.

With a wedding memories theme, the service was part of a series in which the Rev. Jim Campbell will focus on remembrances.

Members of the congregation participate in the services by recounting their own memories specific to each topic.

The series will precede Campbell's pending fall retirement after 22 years at the church.

To remember weddings, Campbell looked to the Presbyterian liturgy for guidelines on conducting a wedding as part of a Sunday service.

Hymns such as "Joyful, Joyful" and "O Perfect Love" set a tone of celebration.

The scripture reading came from Genesis and described the creation of Eve as a partner for Adam.

The weekly children's talk also focused on weddings, with Campbell demonstrating a wedding service between the stuffed animals "Woofers"and "Bear."

Children stood by as the wedding party, helping Woofers and Bear join right paws as Campbell read through the vows.

In addition to serving as a topic for reminiscence, Campbell hoped the focus of the service would remind those in attendance of the value of marriage during a time when many are questioning the definition of the union.

"Ithink they were hoping to hear that marriage is still special — and I think that they are very pleased to hear that without even mentioning the big controversy that goes on now."

In the small congregation, which hovers around 50 in attendance during the summer months, several couples had been married more than 50 years, and many more than 30.

For Cheryl Sloan, who married her husband Richard 36 years ago, one of her most beloved memories came not long after the wedding ceremony.

Married at age 19, Sloan said she was required by law to obtain permission from her father before getting married.

With the consent of her family, the vows were said, the union celebrated and the couple went off to the hotel where they would spend their honeymoon.

When they arrived, several police cars surrounded the hotel.

Not knowing that a robbery had taken place, the newlyweds could only guess what was happening.

"(Richard) said, 'Do you think your father changed his mind?'"

On a more serious note, Campbell's sermon focused on the spirituality involved in marriage.

"Presbyterians feel that God is very present during a wedding ceremony," he said.

He said that although Catholics consider marriage a sacrament, it does not qualify as a sacrament in the Protestant faith, since it was not something Jesus instructed Christians to do.

Despite the technical differences, Campbell described marriage as "a means by which the grace of God comes into peoples lives," the same definition Catholics use to describe sacraments.

The service was the second in the series. The first, held in May, remembered members and friends of the church who died in the past 22 years.

Upcoming services include remembering church history in July and remembering Baptism and professions of faith in August.

Though the series comes just months before Campbell's anticipated retirement in November, he hopes that by looking back, his congregation will be excited about the future.

"This isn't the end of good times for the church,"he said. "This is the beginning of something that might be even better — the new chapter."