Church marries same-sex couples
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By Gordon Dritschilo Staff Writer - Published: September 6, 2009
The first wedding Saturday at Rutland's Unitarian Universalist Church had almost as many members of the media as it did guests.
Two reporters and a photographer joined four friends as Bela Francoeur-Schug and Margaret Francoeur-Dunne of Rutland exchanged vows — one of three couples who signed up for brief ceremonies upgrading their civil unions to marriages Saturday morning.
The Rev. Erica Baron organized the Saturday event and a similar one for today in Bennington to offer couples with civil unions an opportunity to get married easily and quickly now that the gay marriage law has taken effect.
Francoeur-Schug and Francouer-Dunne, who held their 8-month-old daughter as they exchanged vows, were joined in a civil union in 2006.
"Our civil union ceremony was a really big event for us," Francoeur-Dunne said. "We planned it; we had guests from all over the world. It was our family and friends recognizing our union."
Saturday, they said, was about legal recognition, so they did not feel the need to make as big a production out of it.
"Also, the last one was really special," Francoeur-Schug said. "I think we didn't want to make a big deal out of this because it felt like signing a contract."
Cindy Lack and Kathy Detko of Poultney, who also had a small handful of guests, said this was their third time standing together and formally declaring their relationship. The first was a commitment ceremony in 1990.
"That one was pretty quiet, as well, a Unitarian church in Provincetown, (Massachusetts)," Lack said.
Their civil union ceremony was in 2000.
"That was a fairly big deal," Lack said. "We had a JP at the house. We had a 'ginormous' barbecue."
While they are throwing another barbecue, they said they decided to keep the service small and quick.
"I called Monday, and here we are today," Lack said. "I'm not real good at planning."
Margaret Baker and Jessica Rouse of East Middlebury said they also were holding their third service, though they went in a different order than Lack and Detko. They were joined in a civil union in July 2003, followed by a commitment ceremony that October.
"When we called our families and told them what we did, they said 'what?'" Baker said.
"We kind of eloped the first time," Rouse added. "It was a lot like this."
With two kids in tow and another small gaggle of onlookers, Baker and Rouse said the quick and simple ceremony appealed to them.
"Our family — I called them and told them we were getting married and they said 'again?'" Baker said. "We're not making a big deal out of it. We're already about as married as we can be."
gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com
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