Complete services of christian marriage
PRELUDE
PROCESSION OF THE FAMILIES
PROCESSION OF THE WEDDING PARTY
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
And also with you.
SENTENCES OF SCRIPTURE adapted from 1 John 4.7-12
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God;
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent Christ into the world so that we might live through Christ.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us
and sent Christ to be the reconciliation between God and creation.
Beloved, since God loved us so much,
we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us,
and God’s love is perfected in us.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
We are gathered together
to witness and bless
the promises of faithfulness
that Name and Name make to each other
as they join their lives in the covenant of marriage.
Marriage is a good gift from God,
who shares a communal life within the Holy Trinity
and has created us in God’s image,
designing us for shared life as well.
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
Loving God,
you have created us in your image,
calling us to love you and each other,
help us to share our lives with one another
in ways that honor you and each other.
Name and Name have found in each other
companions for the journey of life.
As they publicly declare their love for each other
and pledge their faithfulness to one another,
give them strength to speak the truth in love
and to live in the way of Jesus
through the power of your Spirit.
Amen.
DECLARATION OF INTENT
Name and Name,
I ask you to state your intention
to share your lives with each other
within the covenant of Christian marriage.
To the first person:
Will you, Name, have Name
to be your companion in the journey of life,
to love, honor, and support her/him
as long as you both shall live?
I will.
To the second person:
Will you, Name, have Name
to be your companion in the journey of life,
to love, honor, and support her/him
as long as you both shall live?
I will.
VOWS OF SUPPORT BY THE FAMILIES
The marriage of Name and Name
unites their individual families
and creates a new family.
Will you,
who represent their individual families,
love, honor, and support them
in their life together?
We will.
VOWS OF SUPPORT BY THE CONGREGATION
Name and Name
depend not only upon their families,
but also their larger community
of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances for support.
Will you, who represent their community,
honor, encourage, and support them
in their life together?
We will.
The family members who have escorted the couple down the aisle may be seated.
PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING
Gracious God,
in your great love,
you called creation into being
with but a word.
Through the power of your Spirit,
speak to us through these words of Holy Scripture
that we might be reminded of your love
for all that you have made
and moved to love as you love
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
FIRST READING FROM THE FIRST TESTAMENT
RESPONSIVE PSALM
SECOND READING FROM THE SECOND TESTAMENT EPISTLES OR ACTS
GOSPEL READING
SERMON/HOMILY
VOWS OF THE COUPLE
Having publicly stated your intention
to commit your lives to one another
as covenant companions in the journey of life,
I invite you now
to make your public vows of faithfulness
to each other.
The couple may turn and face one another, joining their hands.
The minister may prompt them, line by line, as they make their vows using these or other words.
To the first person:
Name,
I take you as my spouse,
my covenantal partner in the journey of life,
and I promise to love, support, and honor you
in all the varied circumstances of life:
in plenty and in want,
in joy and in sorrow,
in health and in sickness,
for the rest of my life.
To the second person:
Name,
I take you as my spouse,
my covenantal partner in the journey of life,
and I promise to love, support, and honor you
in all the varied circumstances of life:
in plenty and in want,
in joy and in sorrow,
in health and in sickness,
for the rest of my life.
BLESSING OF RINGS
The minister asks for the rings and places them upon the service book.
She/he then places a hand over the rings and offers a blessing.
These rings are circles,
a shape without beginning and without end.
They symbolize the love of God for God’s creation
and serve as a model for you
as you strive to embody that love
for each other
and all the world.
Let us pray.
Everlasting God,
your love for us is steadfast,
without beginning and without end.
As Name and Name
have made promises of faithfulness to each other,
may these rings serve as a reminder to them
of your unending love for all that you have made
and as a model of their for one another
through Jesus Christ, who embodied love,
and your Spirit, who is power of love at work among us.
Amen.
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
The first person takes a ring from the service book,
places it on the hand of her/his partner,
and says:
Name,
I place this ring on your finger
as a reminder of God’s unending love for you
and as a pledge of my love for you
as I live to honor my vows to you
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit,
one God and Mother of us all.
Amen.
The second person takes a ring from the service book,
places it on the hand of her/his partner,
and says:
Name,
I place this ring on your finger
as a reminder of God’s unending love for you
and as a pledge of my love for you
as I live to honor my vows to you
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit,
one God and Mother of us all.
Amen.
The minister may invite the couple to kneel,
joining the hands which bear the rings of their commitment.
She/he may wrap one side her/his stole around their hands
and offer a prayer of blessing.
BLESSING OF THE MARRIAGE
Faithful God,
We give you thanks for Name and Name,
for the love they have for each other
that has led them to promise their faithfulness
to each other before you and this community.
Give them the strength and courage to keep the promises
they have made to each other and to you
and may their life together give them the strength
to more fully embrace themselves
that they might more fully love each other
and the world around them
through Jesus Christ, the One who teaches us how to love
and your Spirit of Hope who gives us the courage to risk for the sake of love.
Amen.
LIGHTING OF THE UNITY CANDLE
Name and Name,
you have bound your lives together in loving commitment.
You have come from separate backgrounds,
with your own unique personalities, strengths, and needs.
The two candles represent your separate lives.
Together you light the center candle,
as a sign of unity and commitment.
Our hope is that you will show human love at its fullest,
and that your relationship will equip both of you
to bring love and compassion to each other and the world.
The two side candles representing the two individuals are lighted first, and the center candle representing the marriage is lighted at this or some later point in the service. The side candles are not extinguished because both individuals retain their personal identities.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
God be with you.
And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the God of all.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Eternal God,
in love you created the world
and through love you sustain it.
You look with joy upon all that you have made.
Though your love knows no bounds,
our love fails to reflect your unconditional love for us.
When our love fails,
your love remains steadfast.
We give you thanks for your unrelenting love
embodied in the life of Jesus, the Christ,
and for the ways in which his love
draws us closer to you and each other.
We give you thanks for the ways in which the love of Name and Name
reflects your love in Christ for us.
May your Spirit draw us ever closer to one another
that all of our lives may embody your unconditional love
that your reign may come to fullness in and through us.
Amen.
PRAYER OF OUR SAVIOR
As children turn a mother for strength and comfort,
so in a broken and fearful world,
we turn to God,
praying as Jesus taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
CHARGE AND BLESSING
To the couple:
Love one another
with a love purely passionate,
fiercely forgiving,
and unyieldingly understanding,
To the congregation:
Love one another as Jesus, the Christ, has loved us,
giving of himself to embody justice, mercy, and humility.
May the blessing of the Holy One,
Creator, Christ, and Holy Comforter,
be with us and strengthen us to follow faithfully
now and all the days of our lives.
Amen.
RECESSION OF THE WEDDING PARTY
RECESSION OF THE FAMILIES
Contributed by Reverend Wes Jamison
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