Holly and I have been together for eight and a half years. Today, June 7, 2026, we have been married for one year. The Rev. Jessica Stehle, a mutual and long-time friend of us both, and with whom I graduated from both Washington College and seminary, was the officiant at our wedding, which was held on a dock in Chincoteague, Virginia.
During the ceremony, Rev. Jess gave a short homily. As an anniversary gift, she handwrote her sermon out in a bound notebook that says, “Love Heals” on the cover and gave it to us, to continue writing love letters to each other.
Sitting on the porch of a cabin in the same camp ground where we were married, a place we have been staying on the same weekend in June for three years now, Holly and I read Jess’s words aloud and were wonderfully overwhelmed.
I am sharing her homily here, with her permission.
June 7, 2025
Welcome friends, to this blessed day! It is an honor to share God with you here, surrounded by God’s beautiful creation—living water and open sky.
Thank you, Michael and Holly, for inviting me to stand here for you today.
Almost eight years ago in the sanctuary and in the Parish Hall of Christ Church Easton, many people with a spiritual hunger and a longing for a community in which to belong, assembled regularly for a series titled “Alpha,” a word that means beginning.
They gathered in small groups, in faith formation, relationship building, trust, and expressions of Divine Love. They went away on retreat with time for stillness, prayer, and the invitation of the Holy Spirit. And among all of that holy belonging, among the presence of the Holy Spirit, two people were noticing each other.
A short time later, the two lingered in the narthex of Christ Church, talking about writing, life, and sharing stories.
In church architecture, the narthex is situated inside the entrance of the church and serves as a transitional space between the outside world and the sacred place of worship—the sanctuary. It is a place for reflection and preparation for communion with God in the church. It is also a place of hospitality where newcomers are greeted by welcoming ushers into the shared experience of the love of Christ.
In essence, this architectural space in which Michael and Holly lingered symbolizes the move from ordinary to sacred. This was the beginning of their love story, two ordinary people, whose union is today and forever, sacred.
Their relationship began and has remained grounded in God. And when relationships begin with God at the center, they continue to grow exponentially. God is the source of love, and that love is limitless.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus instructs us to abide in his love and to love one another as he loves us, so that our joy may be complete.
Michael and Holly are living expressions of this commandment.
They told me of their desire to honor one another for who they are, to allow one another to BE.
That is grace-filled love. It is why they are able to, in their words, “feel more free together than they do by themselves.”
Michael and Holly, may you always abide in the completeness of your love for one another, through the freedom that exists in the love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
And now witnesses, in the style of Rev. Michael Valliant, who so often captures and shares images of his bride standing in contemplation of a beautiful landscape, and in which we can imagine him, watching her watch the world, I invite you all into stillness.
To fully enter into stillness is not to empty your thoughts, but rather to allow yourself to be filled. Stillness invites complete awareness of the reality that is happening in this present moment.
So please breathe in this moment. We are surrounded by the constant movement of the Chincoteague Bay, whose ripples run like the boundless breadth of God’s goodness. As they reach the shore, the earth offers them back out into the water.
Feel the wind that moves the Bay. Hear the birds that respond. Focus on the couple and the lives on either side of them that now exist together as a wider family. Call upon memories and images that you have already witnessed in your walk alongside this love story. Allow them to wash over you and receive their gift of sharing their wedding day with you.
Michael and Holly, turn and receive the blessing of your loved ones’ presence. Soak it in.
Abide in this sacramental moment and carry it with you always.
And all God’s people said: Amen!
