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Gather and Greeting
Welcome
Presider:
Dear friends in Christ, we have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the union of (first name and second name) in a lifelong commitment of love. The calling to live in the bond of a covenant is a gift from God, in whose image we are created and by whom we are called to love, to reason, to work and play, and to live in God and one another. In celebrating this covenant we are reminded of our highest vocation to love God and to love one another.
[Name1-] and [Name-2] are here to bear witness to their love for each other and to their intention to embody Christ’s love in their relationship. Each has found the other to be a gift of God in the midst of a broken world. We are now called to share in their happiness and to witness this exchange of vows, because we believe God, who is love and trust, sees into their hearts and accepts the offering they are making.
The joining of [Name-1] and [Name-2] in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy, for the health and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity, and for the greater rnanifestation of love in the lives of all whom they encounter. Therefore this commitment is to be undertaken and affirmed seriously, reverently, deliberately and in accordance with God's intention for us.
Opening Prayer (Presider)
First Reading: (harp plays) A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
(silent pause)
Second Reading: A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
(silent pause) (harp ends)
Reflection on why we are gathered (Presider)
Exchange of Vows
Person1:
In the name of God, I, [Name-1], take you, [Name-2], to be my companion and partner. I solemnly promise before God and those present that I will be with you always. I love you now and wish to grow with you … to challenge, as the years pass, how we love our God, each other and those whom God puts in our path. I promise to love you in the times of celebration and of sadness in times of pleasure and of anger, in times of sickness and of health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
Person2:
In the name of God, I, [Name2], take you, [Name1], to be my companion and partner. I solemnly promise before God and those present that I will be with you always. I love you now and wish to grow with you … to challenge, as the years pass, how we love our God, each other and those whom God puts in our path. I promise to love you in the times of celebration and of sadness in times of pleasure and of anger, in times of sickness and of health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
Blessing of the rings (Presider)
Rose Ceremony
Person1:
[Name2], I offer you this rose as a symbol of my love for you, a love that I will express by kindness, respect, trust and faith in you to the end of my life.
Person2:
[Name1], I offer you this rose as a symbol of my love for you, a love that I will express by kindness, respect, trust and faith in you to the end of my life.
Prayer of Gratitude
The Couple:
We would like to thank each of you for being an important part of our lives. We thank you for coming together to celebrate the public declaration of our commitment to each other. We extend an invitation to all of you to be as important a part of our tomorrow as you are of our today.
We would like to especially thank our families for the love and support that they have given us. I would like to thank my mother and father for their love and acceptance. We would like to remember all those who have gone before us and could not be here today to share in our joy but will always be present in our hearts, especially [Names]. We would like to thank our family and friends who are separated from us by distance, but have sent us their love and blessings.
Intercessory Prayer
(Presider invites the congregation to join in prayer.)
Presider:
That they will have a steadily deepening love, which grows in understanding and unselfishness; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
That they will have a measure of patience, especially in the early years when life must fall in step with life; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
Grant them the ability to communicate that they may be saved from hurtful words spoken in anger or grudges nurtured in silence; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
Bless them with a sense of humor, that they may laugh at themselves and with others; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
That theirs be a happy home, where they may find and give serenity and strength; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
Give them a sense of values, that they may care for people more than possessions, for giving rather than receiving, for loving rather than being loved, for understanding rather than being understood, for honor more than honors, for the dimensions of a home more than the details of a house, for your approval more than the world’s approval; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
Plant within them a growing faith, that finds your sufficient love and grace in every joy and sorrow and responds in lives of steadiness and service; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
Make them instruments of your peace; for this we pray.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Presider:
We ask your blessing upon them. In health and in sickness, in abundance and in want, in life and in death.
Response:
Lord help them to grow in love.
Circle of Blessing (all) (harp plays quietly)
Closing Prayer (presider)
Gifts to Family, Friends (the couple)
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