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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 together so
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 families and their
friends.
Reverend Debby’s Commitment Charge
to the Couple
Reverend Debby:
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. 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. 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
Reverend Debby:_________________,
do you take _______________ as your partner in life, promising to
tenderly care for her, to respect her individuality, to cherish her as
she is, and to love her with fidelity?
Respondent:
“I do”
Reverend Debby:_________________,
do you take _______________ as your partner in life, promising to
tenderly care for him, to respect his individuality, to cherish him as
he is, and to love him with fidelity?
Respondent:
“I do”
Commitment Vows
Reverend Debby asks each partner, in turn,
to repeat after her:
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
Reverend
Debby asks each partner, in turn, to repeat after her:
In giving you this ring, I join my life with
yours, and pledge my everlasting love.
Pronouncement
Reverend Debby: 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.
Let us all rejoice in their
love and joy, as we begin the celebration of their union with
enthusiastic applause!
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