Short Wedding Ceremony

By Rev. Jon G. Kelvey

Hello and welcome! We have been invited here today to share in the joy of _______ and _______ as they unite in the sanctity of marriage. They are taking the first step into a new beginning, a new era: their life together. We are here to witness the subtle and enveloping currents of love and devotion that have brought them together here in this life. We are here for a ceremony, sacred, formal celebration and formulation of something beautiful and intangible. It is idea made manifest, it is experiential poetry in full bloom. We live in a very mundane and profane society, one where the culture of convenience has pushed the ceremony and reverence out of everyday life. Where once simple acts like gathering water held a certain solemnity and at every step of life there was a right of passage, now find the bastions of the sacred pushed back into the corners of our lives. This, in a way, makes the ceremony that much more powerful to us today, as we only experience it a few times throughout our lives. These remaining scared spaces are the head cornerstones of our lives architecture; they uphold and mark the bridges over which we must pass on our walk of life. Of these defining experiences, there is one that we find throughout all history and across all cultural boundaries. That is, the experience of marriage. Marriage must certainly stand as one of the biggest events in our lives, right up there with birth and death. Few of you were ?there? at your arrival, and even fewer of you will attend your own funeral. Of the three, marriage is the only event you will celebrate with a conscious awareness. Here it stands unique as the one island-like point of awareness and volition between two uncontrollable events in life. None of you, so far as we can tell, got to vote on when you came here to be with us, and so far as it seems, the way out is as uncontrollable as the way in. Marriage stands unique as an act of conscious synthesis between birth and death, it links two individual?s lives with each other and the web of life itself. Its links the generations of the past through this covenant of the present and onto those of the future. Marriage is the union of disparate elements, where yin and yang, proton and electron, male and female come together to make a ?one.? This isn?t just a human custom; this is the very dynamic process of which the universe is made. When you see two people united in marriage, you see the earthly continuation of the fire of the universe; it?s the continuing dance of creation that we share with all of life. Vows You are the air says the groom to his bride, and you are the earth. It is you that swells my breast with breath and sustains me in this life; that that carries my prayers in times of trouble. It is I that supports your feet and brings forth food to sustain you in this life; that supports your head in times of trouble. I will breathe, I will eat, I will live, and I will love because of you?(Casual Option: Are you guys cool with that? Then kiss.) If there is anyone here who objects to this union, let them, or forever hold their peace? I know pronounce you, husband and wife -- kiss. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing, Mr. And Mrs.______.  ********************    The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.   As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar.