Security guard Wright does double duty as reverend

By Emina Cirkic

He is a security guard by day and a reverend by night. Students and faculty at Lane may only think of Mr. Wright as the tall security guard with watchful eyes, but many do not know he has been a reverend for 12 years.

Wright became an ordained preacher in 1999. Throughout his life, he was always involved in religious activities. He started out as a preacher as a young adult and passed out tracks to people in the street. He continued his religious activities witnessing on weekends.

“[Being a reverend] has always been a calling of mine. The Lord spoke to me and told me I should become a reverend,” said Wright.

Shortly after his calling, a woman at his local church recommended he become a reverend and was recruited by his church a little while later. After a few classes, Wright became an ordained reverend on December 26, 1999.

Mr.Wright’s reverend license came in handy at Lane several years ago when he was asked to officiate a wedding ceremony for Mr. Bertenshaw and his fiance.

During a casual conversation in Lane’s hallway, Bertenshaw discovered Wright was a reverend. He asked him to officiate his wedding that was scheduled for the following week.

Only four days after the official engagement, Bertenshaw and his wife married in their living room.

“[The wedding] was very commonplace. We decided to get married in the course of a conversation. I didn’t get down on one knee and there was no skywriting involved,” Bertenshaw said.

On the day of the wedding, Bertenshaw and Wright came to school in suits because the wedding was right after school. Bertenshaw gave Wright a ride to his house and the wedding took place with a few guests.

Before the wedding ceremony, Wright had to look up wedding prayers online because it was the first wedding he had ever officiated. Meanwhile, Bertenshaw was getting flowers from the florist down the street to decorate the living room. Bertenshaw even had to borrow wedding rings from a friend because the wedding was so last minute.

“It was my first wedding and I wanted to make sure I said [the wedding prayers] right,” Wright said.

The ceremony itself only lasted about seven minutes and the guests, which included Wright, Bertenshaw’s friend, his wife, and mother-in-law, went out to a celebratory dinner afterward.