CHRISTIAN CEREMONY #4
BROUGHT TOGETHER BY GOD
PRESENTATION OF THE BRIDE
Who gives _(Bride)_ to be married to _(Groom)_ ? / Response: I / We do.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray:
God, _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ are standing before me, about to exchange vows of faithfulness and love as they seek to be joined in marriage. I pray that you would make these very important moments in their lives into very sacred ones and grant that their marriage be blessed, and a source of joy to both of them. Even as you have shown the world, through Jesus Christ, what real love is, so also be with _(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ and help them to discover more and more of that love. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
DECLARATION
_(Bride)_ and _(Groom)_ , by your presence here you are already making public your intention to marry. If either of you, or anyone here present, can show just cause why you may not lawfully be married, I charge you now to declare it. For the marriage covenant must be made in a spirit of honesty and openness.
PLEDGE
So that your integrity of purpose may be made clear to those of us present, would you each respond to these questions:
_(Groom)_ , do you purpose in your heart and mind to live with _(Bride)_ in a fashion consistent with God’s design for marriage? Do you purpose to love her, honour her and be faithful to her in times of personal need and personal blessing? Do you pledge with God’s help and to the best of your ability, to seek to establish and maintain honest, open and loving communication between yourself and _(Bride)_ ? Forsaking all others, do you promise to remain faithful to _(Bride)_ as long as you both live? / Answer: I do.
_(Bride)_ do you purpose in your heart and mind to live with _(Groom)_ in a fashion consistent with God’s design for marriage? Do you purpose to love him, honour him and be faithful to him in times of personal need and personal blessing? Do you pledge with God’s help and to the best of your ability, to seek to establish and maintain honest, open and loving communication between yourself and _(Groom)_ ? Forsaking all others, do you promise to remain faithful to _(Groom)_ as long as you both live? / Answer: I do.
THE WORD OF GOD
In that you have stated your willingness to receive each other as partners in God’s plan for marriage, will you now hear the counsel of God’s word concerning marriage and love: This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience; it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive; it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of itself and its own importance. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not compile statistics of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails. Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is in fact the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. (I Corinthians 13.4-8 JBP)
_(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ , may God bless you with the richness of such love.
WORDS OF CAUTION
If you believe that God has brought you together, then no man, including you _(Groom)_ or woman, including you _(Bride)_ should try to break or dissolve your marriage.
PASTORAL GUIDANCE
Your marriage 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 a love requires that you commit your lives to one another freely and without reserve, for the sake of a deeper and wider life together. You will be seeking to become one in mind and heart and body. I invite you to trust in the living Christ: Let Him into your partnerships and He will be your guide and support through life.
THE VOWS
_(Bride)_ , please transfer your bouquet to your maid of honour? Face each other and join hands.
_(Groom)_ , please repeat after me your wedding vows to your bride?
_(Bride)_ , with joy and in love
I take you to be my wife;
to be the mother of my children,
and the companion of my days.
I promise to share with you
in whatever happiness or sadness,
abundance or want,
adversity or blessing
that may be a part of our lives.
I intend that our lives
should together be woven
into a single tapestry
of love and mutual concern
for as long as we both remain alive.
You also, _(Bride)_ , please repeat after me your wedding vows to your groom?
_(Groom)_ , with joy and in love
I take you to be my husband;
to be the father of my children,
and the companion of my days.
I promise to share with you
in whatever happiness or sadness,
abundance or want,
adversity or blessing
that may be a part of our lives.
I intend that our lives
should together be woven
into a single tapestry
of love and mutual concern
for as long as we both remain alive.
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
May I have the rings please?
_(Groom)_ , as you place your ring on your bride’s finger, please repeat after me you commitment to _(Bride)_ ?
I give you this ring
that you may wear it
as the symbol of the vows
we have taken
and of the covenant
we have made this day.
_(Bride)_ , as you place your ring on your groom’s finger, please repeat after me you commitment to _(Groom)_ ?
I give you this ring
that you may wear it
as the symbol of the vows
we have taken
and of the covenant
we have made this day.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
In that you and have made these solemn promises of marriage before God and these witnesses, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Province of Ontario as an ordained minister of the gospel, in the name of the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit I declare that you are husband and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Shall we pray…
Heavenly Father, who established marriage for your children and endowed us with the ability to love creatively, we bring _(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ before You and earnestly pray for them. May their union be blessed with true devotion, spiritual commitment and personal integrity. Grant to _(Groom)_ and _(Bride)_ the grace and ability to keep and maintain the vows they have exchanged today. When selfishness threatens their relationship, overwhelm them with a generous spirit. When lack of trust creeps in, impart to them new measures of faith in one another. Where misunderstandings arise, increase their willingness to communicate honestly and openly, and fortify them with patience and gentleness. If and when suffering comes their way, strengthen them in their inner being for all endurance with patience and joy. If they are blessed with children as the result of this union grant to them parental wisdom. May their home be a happy shelter from the pressures of living, and an effective force of resistance against that which corrupts and destroys. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
DOCUMENTS
SPECIAL MUSIC
PRESENTATION OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM
It is my privilege and pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs_(Groom)_. and _(Bride)_ ———-.
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