Continued: Video gives some clergy cold feet

Wendy Osman saw the video -- groomsmen strutting, groom somersaulting, bride bopping down the aisle -- and immediately sent the link to her co-workers, with this message:

"What are we going to do if we get requests for this?"

As the director of wedding ministry for Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Osman was posing a question crossing the minds of other clergy and wedding planners. Will the now-famous YouTube video of Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson's grooving procession at Christ Lutheran Church in St. Paul, with its more than 14 million views, inspire copycats? Should it be allowed?

Some churches say they would welcome such an expression of joy. Others have reservations. Some have deep concerns.

Pastor Ken Lewis of Trinity Baptist Church in Maplewood said he worries such a dance would detract from the service.

"The key thing for me is we want whatever happens to honor the Lord," he said. "We should be celebrating the Lord, not just ourselves."

A few years ago, Lewis officiated at the nuptials of a couple whose wedding party "did a slow, little dance step" as they came down the aisle. It was done in a respectful fashion, he said, "with some dignity." He thought it fit the service.

"Did I know it was coming? No," he said. "Was I sad that it had? Not at all."

The copycat question

Protestant churches, like the one in which the St. Paul couple wed, review and in some cases revise couples' plans for music and readings. Catholic churches are stricter, with polices -- but not doctrine or dogma -- that dictate what music, readings and rituals are appropriate parts of the liturgy.

Dancing? Not likely.

"In the West, the connection we have with dancing is not typically a connection with worship," said the Rev. John Paul Erickson, director of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis' office of worship. "There needs to be a real guardedness about bringing it into the liturgy for that reason."

Catholic churches in Africa and other parts of the world have different relationships to dancing and do incorporate it into their services, he said. Erickson watched the video and found it "on its face, very amusing." But, he added, a similar dance down the aisle "would not be approved or looked upon with amusement if conducted by a Catholic parish."

In contrast, couples are granted a lot of leeway for creative approaches at the White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church, where the Rev. Victoria Safford guides couples "toward elegance but not formality."

Although the comfort of the guests is important, a wedding ceremony should be a unique expression of the couple and their marriage, Safford said. She found the dance captured on YouTube to be just that.

"Those participants absolutely were dancing the ceremony. It was not self-conscious. It was not a show. It looked so like, 'This is who we are and we've gotta do it.' Would it be right for every couple in every setting? Oh, no. But nor would a stiff, old-fashioned ceremony."

The video has sparked discussions with couples planning weddings about individuality, irreverence and faith, Safford said.

It's caused similar conversations at Christ Lutheran Church, where the YouTube wedding was held.

The Rev. Gary Dreier is the pastor there, although he did not officiate the wedding in question. If he had, he said with a laugh, the only thing I would have done differently would have been to get their permission to join in. "I could've moon-walked in from the side," he joked.

Dreier has received dozens of e-mails about the dance from pastors and parishioners all over the country. Most are supportive. One man wrote that he was agnostic, but the video made him want to return to church.

"I'm keenly aware that people in their 20s and 30s are very spiritual, but church doesn't do it for them," Dreier said. "One of the reasons is the way we do church seems to exclude anything that seems real and genuine. There are people out there who are hungry for a church where they can be themselves."

But he has received critical e-mails as well, some from more conservative churches, admonishing him for allowing such displays in what should be a sacred sanctuary. It all depends on whether you believe church should be separate and set apart from other parts of life, he said.

Bridesmaids gotta boogie

Of course, no one knows whether more couples will plan similar stunts. It's also possible the idea of being a copycat could actually squelch imitations of the video.

"There's sort of an 'Oh, you want to be just like this couple,'" Osman said. "Everyone's going to know exactly where it came from."

Ministers weren't the only ones who watched the video and wondered and worried if it would inspire others.

Amy Hale has suddenly found her role in a friend's outdoor wedding this September turning from bridesmaid to bridesmaid/dancer.

Her friend, whom she's known since childhood, sent the YouTube link to her wedding party, requesting something similar.

"I wonder if this is going to spawn a whole new tradition of getting down the aisle," said Hale, who lives in Seattle. Although she expects her friends' version will be cute -- a number of the bridesmaids sing and dance -- "it has potential for some serious humiliation."

The dance itself didn't shock Sarah Trotter, owner of Lasting Impressions Wedding & Event Planning in Shakopee. Choreographed dances have become "so common" in recent years, she said.

What did surprise her was that the dance took place in a church. Most of the line dancing and bootie shaking she's seen has been at receptions only.

"The first dance is not what you'd think of as the first dance anymore," said Trotter, whose company handles about 65 weddings a year. "This is the YouTube generation. They're doing their best to be creative, be different."

One couple who married in Chisago City this summer held their first dance on the water. The pair wakeboarded -- he clad in a suit, she in a white dress -- as music played and guests cheered.

The next day, "1st dance," at tinyurl.com/kugq4l, was up on YouTube.

As of this writing, just over 260 views.

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168