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We, who have gathered in this circle, are now privileged
to witness and to participate in a ceremony celebrating,
the public acknowledgment of a love which ____________
and ____________ have for each other, knowing that by
our presence here with them, we are saying that they,
together, are loved by many others. We have come to
surround them as they stand before us in this center,
where now ____________ and ____________ in essence say,
"Welcome to our marriage! Welcome to the Celebration!"
Marriage is too for children! For them it is, or can be,
more than just witnessing. There is an opportunity for
them to bring themselves into the new family and in a
symbolic sense to give themselves to this new venture as
they bring a "Gift of love" which they will present now
to ____________ and ___________.
The children come bearing flowers, which are given to
the Bride and Groom.
Minister:
When you love someone, you do not love them all the
time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment.
That is impossible. It is even a disservice to pretend
it is possible. Yet that is what most of us demand. We
have such little faith in the ebb and flow of life and
of love and of relationships.
We leap forward at the flow of the tide and resist in
terror its ebb, for we are afraid it will never return.
We insist on permanence, on duration, on continuity. But
the only continuity possible in life, as in love, is in
growth, in fluidity and in freedom, as dancers are free,
barely touching as they pass, but partners in creating
the same pattern.
I speak now to ____________ and ____________ of love, in
which, the trust and freedom of the other person becomes
as significant as the trust and freedom of one's self. I
speak to them of generosity, which gathers the beauty of
earth for riches and the kindness which turns away the
wrath of foolish men and women. I speak of all our hopes
for their continued growth through patience, one for the
other. May ____________ and ____________ keep the vows
made on this day, in freedom, teaching each other who
they are, what they yet shall be, enabling them to know
that, in the fullness of being, they are more than
themselves and more than each other, that they are all
of us and that together we share joyously the fruits of
life on this Earth, our home.
Ring Ceremony:
Groom places ring on Bride’s finger:
May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing
love.
Bride places ring on Groom’s finger:
May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing
love.
Minister:
May these two find happiness in their union. May they
live faithfully together, executing the vows they have
made between them; and may they ever remain
compassionate and encouraging, that their years may be
rich with the joys of life, and their days be long upon
the Earth.
I now pronounce you husband and wife.
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