Blessing & exchange of rings/symbols

We pray God's blessing at the time of giving and receiving symbols of love and devotion.

Blessing of rings/symbols

Example 1:

Wedding rings serve as the symbol of the covenant you have just spoken.  They are the

outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible love which binds your hearts

together.  As they are of the finest of earth’s materials, so your love is of the richest of

spiritual values.  As rings are without edge or seam, having no beginning and no end, so

they symbolize the perfection of a love that cannot end.

 

Let us pray.  Bless these rings, O God, to be the visible sign of the vows here made, that each who gives a ring and each who wears one may be reminded of their promises, evermore living and growing in the spirit of your love.  Amen.

 

Example 2:

The wedding ring is a symbol of God’s eternal and unbroken love and grace, given to humankind in a unique blessing in this holy covenant.  It signifies the uniting of _____ & _____ in this covenant.

 

Example 3:

Bless, O Lord these rings to be a sign of the solemn vows by which these two people

have bound themselves to each other in this Holy Covenant

(Holy Matrimony); through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Example 4:

Bless, O Lord, the giving of these rings that they who wear them may live in your peace, and continue in your favor all the days of their lives, through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

 

Example 5:

These are rings of precious metal, they have value and great worth. Today, they are pristine and shining. With wearing they will become weathered and worn and yet their value and worth will deepen. The rings are complete and whole, they are endless circles; without identifiable beginning and without ending. May your love for each other bear each of these characteristics in the years to come, even as you present these symbols each to the other.

Let us pray.

Precious God, bless these symbols of love and devotion. In their exchange may they be ever-present reminders of the value, worth, pristine, complete, whole and endless love you have given us. Bind the hearts of ___ and ___ tightly together as they live into your brilliance. Amen

Exchange of rings/symbols

Example 1:

_____, I give you this ring as a sign of our covenant.

Example 2:

_____, I give you this ring as a sign of my promise.

Example 3:

_____, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of God.  Amen.

Example 4:

____, 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.

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Contributed by Reverend Mary Kraus & Reverend Cedric A. Harmon

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