Welcome and Call to the Celebration
Welcome, you have all come today to witness and celebrate the drawing together of two separate lives. This may be the first ceremony of this type you have participated in or witnessed, or it may not, but its purpose and its heart is quite simple even as it is profound. We have come to that ________ and ________ may celebrate and consecrate their
spiritual union. It is by their love and that of their Higher Power that they will be united here today. And they wish to celebrate this passage in the presence of
your love and support and to share their joy in each other with you, their family and their friends.
The Vision
Love is perhaps the most profound experience that we can have. The sensual part of love is one of life's greatest joys, and when this is combined with real friendship, both are infinitely enhanced. The day-to-day companionship, the pleasure in doing things together, or in doing separate things but delighting to exchange experiences, is a continuous and central joy that those in love share together.
Deep knowledge of another is not something that can be achieved in a short time, and real understanding of the other's feelings can develop fully only with years of
intimacy. This wonderful knowledge of another person grows out of truly caring for the other so much that one wants to understand as completely as possible what the other is feeling. Thus it is possible to share not only joys and successes, but also the burden of sorrows and failures. To be known in this way is a priceless thing, because such understanding and acceptance makes it easier to live with profound intimacy, it can and must also enhance the individual strength of each of the partners. We must give ourselves in love, but we must not give ourselves away.
_____________________ and ___________________, your union offers you the highest and most intimate experience of love that we know. A growing bond of affection, trust and mutual concern can bring you into a fuller life than either of you could achieve alone. As you share with each other your individual differences, your life together can become richer, more complete, and more spiritually satisfying. A union in such a sense will entail a uniting on all the levels of your being: body and mind, heart and
spirit. Then, the longer that your are together, the more you grow and develop together, the deeper will be your lives together in union.
Even now, love is calling for the best qualities deep within each of you, seeking to break down barriers of fear, selfishness, or anything that would keep you apart. This love opens a way of understanding and sensitivity and courage, enabling you to be more responsive to the desires and the needs of one another.
Remember always that love, loyalty, and trust are the foundations of a lasting and happy union. As you strive to fulfill the commitment that you declare to one another here, you life together can be increasingly full of joy, satisfaction, and peace. I pray that you will hold fast to the vision and the promise of this
special day.
Declaration of Intention
Minister to the couple individually:_______, do you take _____ as
your partner in life, promising to tenderly care for him/her, to respect his/her individuality, to cherish him/her as he/she is, to love him/her with fidelity? (I do)
Commitment Vows
(Each repeating) I, ______, take you, ______, to be my beloved partner in life, to stand behind, beside and with you always, in times of celebration and in times of sorrow, in times of joy and in times of pain, in times of sickness and in times of health. I will live with you, love and cherish you as long as we both shall live.
Exchange of Rings
(Each repeating) In giving you this ring, I join my life with yours, and pledge my everlasting love.
Lighting of the Unity Candle
______ and ________, these two candles now lit before you symbolize each of you in your individual uniqueness. The larger candle, still unlit, is to symbolize the power and the vision of your union together. Each of you has brought to this moment a
wealth of personality, of background, of experience and of strengths and weaknesses. And you each bring all of these to your union. You will be lighting a new light together, using the fire that each of you brings to this place and this decision. But do not extinguish your individual lights, lest there be less light and warmth. May these flames burn brightly and the warmth of your love for each other and for others be all the greater.
Prayer and the Seven Blessings
O God, may the miracle of your love bless ___________'s and _________'s union. Give them the willingness and patience to fulfill their commitments to one another and fill them with freedom and happiness. Grant them the serenity to accept the things that they cannot change, courage to change the things they can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
All of you will be an important part of _____________'s and ____________'s life together and for that reason representative
friends and family members have been asked to offer them a blessing. A blessing is created from the heart, comes with our love and support, and is given over to our Higher Power as a sacred gesture. The seven will now each offer a blessing, and our part will be to say Amen after each blessing:
Person One: May the power of your love bring you health and wellbeing throughout your lives. (Amen)
Person Two: May have wisdom in the ordering of your common life that you may each be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, and a companion in joy. (Amen)
Person Three: May you have the grace, when you hurt each other, to recognize your faults, and to seek each other's forgiveness. (Amen)
Person Four: May your life together be a vessel of divine love and a symbol of peace to our struggling world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guild, and joy conquer despair (Amen)
Person Five: May you be ever thoughtful and gentle, patient and forbearing, regardful of each other's feelings and opinions, and lenient to each other's infirmities. (Amen)
Person Six: Despite whatever challenges and struggles lie upon yourrelationship's path, may you always find life good and worth celebrating. (Amen)
Person Seven: May you discover such deep fulfillment of your mutual affection that you may always be inspired to reach out in love and concern for others. (Amen)
Presentation to Guests
_______ and ______ will turn to each of you for support, love and guidance in the years to come. Will each of you do all that is in your power to encourage _______ and ________ in their commitment and to support them in the promises that they make here today ---- if so, please indicate by saying, "We will." (We will)
Pronouncement
With the promises they have made to one another, and by the power of their love which comes through their Higher Power, ______ and _______ have been joined in a spiritual union. They are now partners sharing one life from this day forward.
Final Blessing
I will leave you now with a blessing from the Apache tribal tradition, which says:
Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now you will feel no loneliness,
for each of you will be companionship to the other.
Now you are two persons, but there is one life between you.
So go now to your dwelling place
to enter into the days of your life together.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth. Amen
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