“Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” - Robert Heinlein

email: rpowersrev@aol.com P.O. Box 2595 Leucadia, CA 92024 760-929-1001

Minister uses his Powers to marry thousands

By Joel D. Amos - For the North County Times | Saturday, May 17, 2008 10:06 PM PDT 8

Rev. Richleigh Powers conducts a marriage ceremony.

With June brides preparing to deluge the county's wedding halls and ballrooms, the Rev. Richleigh Powers will be a busy man. After all, he holds the title of San Diego's Most Valuable Minister, awarded by the San Diego Wedding Professionals Association in 2007.

Few events in life are as joyous as a wedding, said Powers, a Carlsbad resident. "What else would I want to do with this calling?" he said. "It's about helping people achieve what they want in that moment. That's what it's all about."

Although his great-grandfather was a Methodist minister, Powers said he did not find this path until later in his youth.

"In my early 30s, I just got a calling," he said. "I finished up my doctorate in psychology and moved into theology. I never really pursued it to the point of having my own church or anything. But the Rev. John Sorenson got me started in the marriage ministry."

Powers was finishing up the internship aspect of his clinical psychology doctorate 20 years ago, and one of the women in his office had her minister back out days before the ceremony. Powers stepped in and performed the wedding in Balboa Park, and 4,000 ceremonies later, he is still uniting couples in love.

"Weddings started being referred to me. I started doing weddings no one else would do," Powers said. "Like hot air balloon weddings or on surfboards. That's why they call me 'the rebel Rev,'" he said and laughed. "That's how it all got started. I've done weddings on horseback, on Ferris wheels ---- there are just so many."

Watching him work illustrates how Powers is different from others. He not only sets the tone for the ceremony, but his ease permeates the entire affair.

Before a wedding, there is a palpable nervousness. Normally, the release of anxiety occurs once the couple is married. Powers' approach to the ceremony is that it is not something to simply get through, that it can be as enjoyable as ---- and even more memorable than ---- the rest of the evening.

"I don't even think about it, really. I pick up on what's going on in the moment. I like to bring the element of life into it," Powers said. It is easy to see why he is a participating chaplain for the San Diego Maritime Museum, among numerous San Diego landmarks.

"Nowadays when a bride walks towards the groom after the father presents her, there's this pause. The groom is looking at the bride ---- it's the first time he's seen her all day. I look at him, his eyes are just filled with amazement, and I say, 'So, how you like marriage so far?' Everybody laughs. They're waiting for that moment. They're stressed, scared and eager ---- all emotions. It's nice to break it. Then you can then just enjoy the moment rather than being stressed and worried."

Powers has put his expertise to great use with an updated 2008 edition of his self-published book, "The Romance of the Wedding Ceremony," wherein he details the secrets to a successful ceremony.

The key, he said: "It's all about love."

As for his own love life, Powers and his wife, Kathleen, will celebrate their 15th anniversary next month. They were married in Balboa Park at the St. Francis Chapel by the Rev. Sorensen, Powers' mentor.

The couples he's married keep in touch with him, he said. His ministry continues through life and does not end with the "I now present the bride and groom."

"They ask me to do baptisms and other life events," Powers said.

With his ministry including such important facets as leading a marriage enhancement group and marriage counseling, his commitment to the institution of marriage goes beyond performing a religious union between two loves.

"I always keep in close contact with folks. You become a part of their lives."