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Marriage At First United Church
At First United
Church we value committed relationships. It is always a
joy to celebrate God’s presence in the Covenant of Marriage and
life partnerships. For all United Churches the marriage
celebration is a religious ceremony and not a sacrament of our
church. However, the sacrament of Holy Communion may be a
part of the ceremony if requested. The objective of the
minister and staff at First United Church is to offer a
consultative process in the planning of your ceremony. Our
goal is to share in a celebration that will be meaningful and
remembered for the rest of your life.
Premarital counselling
is also available upon request. Marriage preparation courses
attended at other main line denominations are recognized.
Couples are required to meet with the minister performing the
ceremony at least twice before the day of the rehearsal. The
minister reserves the right to refuse the marriage ceremony if
he or she deems the couple not fully committed to a life long
relationship or if the couple does not appear mature enough for
such an undertaking.
First United Church will
not discriminate on the basis of age, sexual orientation,
previous marital status, or faith community. If further
information is required in regard to same sex marriages please
see our current policy.
Processional Music or
Hymn
Entry
The couple and their
attendants may gather with the presider at the front of the
church.
Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love
of God,
and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(And also with you.)
or
May God, who gives life to all creation
and hears
all our prayers,
be with us
as we gather.
Prayer of Approach
Statement of Purpose
to the congregation
We are
gathered here in God’s presence
to witness
the covenant of marriage/life partnership of N. and N.,
and to ask
God to bless them.
By our
presence we accept responsibility
for
supporting them in the new relationship
they are
about to enter.
We are
called to rejoice in their happiness,
to be
patient when they make mistakes,
to help them
in times of trouble,
and to
remember them in our prayers.
One of the following
may be added.
God established marriage that man and
woman
might have
life-long companionship,
that natural
instinct and affections
might be
fulfilled in mutual love,
that
children might have the benefit of family life,
and that
society might rest on a firm foundation.
or
The
scriptures teach us that at relationship
of committed
love is a gift of God’s grace,
an image of
God’s love,
and a sign
of God’s new community in Christ.
to the couple
Your covenant of marriage/partnership
joins you for life
in a
relationship so intimate
that it
profoundly affects your whole being.
It offers
you the promise of a love that is true and mature.
Such love
requires that you commit your lives
to one
another freely and without reserve,
for the sake
of a deeper and wider life together.
Seek to
become one in mind and heart as well as one in body.
Trust in the
living Spirit,
who will
guide and support you on your way.
Question of
Impediment (If required by law
or custom)
N.and
N., if either of you, or anyone here,
knows of any
lawful impediment why you may not be married,
I charge you
before God, the Searcher of all hearts, to declare it.
Declaration of Intent
The presider asks each
in turn
N.,
will you have N. to be your
wife/husband/partner?
I will.
Promises and Blessing
by Family and Friends
to the families
Do you, the
families of N. and N.,
give them your blessing
and promise
to uphold and care for them
in their
marriage/partnership?
We do.
to the congregation
Do you, the friends of N. and
N.,
give your blessing
and promise
to support and honour them
in their
marriage/partnership?
We do.
Word
Prayer for
Illumination
God our Creator,
You have
made us in your own image,
With a mind
to understand your works,
A heart to
love you,
And a will
to serve you.
Increase in
us that knowledge,
That love
and that faithfulness,
That we may
grow daily in your likeness;
Through
Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen
Scripture
Sermon
Music
Act of Covenanting
Invocation of the
Spirit
Let us pray for N. and N.
as they make their vows.
Gracious
God, from the beginning
you made us
to live in loving relationship with each other.
Fill N.
and N. with your Holy Spirit,
As in your
name they pledge themselves to one another
In vows of
love and faithfulness.
Let your
love be in them,
As their
hope is in you;
Through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Exchange of Vows
The couple face one
another, each holding the right hand of the other.
The presider may
discreetly help the couple make their vows.
In the
presence of God and before these witnesses,
I, N.,
take you N., to be my wife/husband/partner,
for better,
for worse;
for richer
for poorer;
in sickness
and in health;
in joy and
in sorrow;
to love and
to cherish
and to be
faithful to you alone,
as long as
we both shall live.
Exchange of Rings or
Other Tokens
Each places a ring on
the other’s finger, or offers another token, and says in turn.
I give you
this ring/token
(that you
may wear it)
as a symbol of the vows we have made this
day.
The presider may
invite the couple to seal their vows with a kiss.
You may seal
your vows with a kiss.
Declaration
Forasmuch as
N. and N.
Have made
this covenant of marriage/life partnership
Before God
and in this company,
I declare
them to be husband and wife/life partners,
In the name of the Father and of the Son
And of the
Holy Spirit.
Those whom
God has joined together,
Let no one
put asunder.
Blessing of the
Couple
The Lord
bless and sustain you,
that you may
please God in body and spirit
and grow
together in love all the days of your life.
The documents may be
signed at this time.
Prayer
The couple may kneel;
the people may be seated.
O God, Lord
of life and love eternal,
author of
all good and giver of all joy;
we thank you
for the gift of loving faithfulness.
We bless you
for the joy which N. and N.
have found in each other,
and for the
covenant which they have made before you.
Gracious
God, whose love is everlasting,
grant that
N. and N. may live together
in unity and
love all the days of their life.
give them
health, prosperity, and peace.
Strengthen
them to follow and serve you
that they
may walk in the steps of Jesus.
And when the
joys and sorrows
and all the
good and pain of this world are ended,
let them
inherit your promises
and share in
your eternal glory.
God our
shelter, look in favour upon all our homes.
Defend them
against any evil from within or without,
and supply
their needs
according to
the riches of your grace.
For
ourselves also we pray, O God,
that
directed by your Spirit,
we may each
look to the good of others in word and deed,
and grow in
grace as we advance in years;
through
Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen
Celebration of
Communion
The Lord’s Prayer
Sending Forth
Music
If not already
signed, the documents may be signed at this time.
Presentation of the
Couple
Greet N.
and N. who will begin a new life together.
(Celebrating God’s
Presence: A Book of Services)
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