Wedding Service incorporating Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jewish faiths.  Also includes ritual of the joining of the lineages through the mothers.

Invocation

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

            We gather together today to witness and to bless the union of this couple in marriage.  As the Yin and the Yang come together, as we recognize our Heavenly Father and our Mother Nature, we receive the blessings of Lord Buddha, Sri Krishna, and Jesus the Christ; we receive the blessings of the divine Shakti, the Shekinah, and the Blessed Virgin.  As these two people come together we recognize the great truth that there is only one God - through all the multitude of expressions - and so there is only one Life in which these two shall unite - for Life.

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Betrothal

            Each of you presents yourself as a autonomous individual to this marriage. 

Groom, do you come freely, after careful consideration, selecting this person with whom you choose to share the parallel paths of life?

Answer: I do.

Bride, do you come freely, after careful consideration, selecting this person with whom you choose to share the parallel paths of life?

Answer: I do.

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Sermonette

We have gathered here today in the midst of Nature which is the place of Worship most comfortable for Bride and Groom.

            Groom and Bride brought the following quotation with them when we began to talk with each other regarding this special day.

            "Our love is as the sea, consistent and ever changing.  Our love is as the wind, rapturous and all encompassing.  Our love is as the earth, solid and firm.  Our love is as a flame, illuminating our lives and warming our hearts.

            Yet our love extends beyond sea, wind, earth, and flame.  It is greater than who we are and meaningless without us.  It is more powerful than our past yet the foundation for our future.  It has brought us here today to become one in the eyes of our family and friends, for all the days to come .  Our love is the essence of our lives."

The great New Thought writer, Emmett Fox, spoke of this pathway of love:

            "All the old traditions tell us that there is more than one path to the Great Goal.  Just as there is more than one road up every great mountain, and yet all roads meet at the top, so in the Spiritual Quest there are several roads, all of which lead in due season to the One Great End."

            "The shortest and the easiest pathway of all is the Pathway of Love.  This really is the Royal Road to the attainment of the Great Goal.  It is the simplest of all the paths, and it is the most direct and the easiest too.  And it is the one pathway which is open to all, everywhere, irrespective of what their personal conditions or surrounding circumstances may be.  For Everyone, every where, the true Initiation, through the Yoga of Love, awaits every day."

From the Bhagavad Gita, another view of the Yoga of Love:

Sri Krishna says: 

"He lives in wisdom, who sees himself in all and all in him, whose love for the Lord of Love has consumed every selfish desire and sense craving tormenting the heart. 

Not agitated by grief, or hankering after pleasure, he lives free from lust and fear and anger.

Fettered no more by selfish attachments, he is not elated by good fortune, nor depressed by bad.  Such is the seer."

The great mystic of Spain, Saint Teresa of Avila, writes: 

"Her heart is full of joy with love, for in the Lord her mind is stilled.

She has renounced every selfish attachment and draws abiding joy and strength from the One within.

She lives not for herself, but lives to serve the Lord of Love in all,

And swims across the sea of life breasting its rough waves joyfully."

The great Prophet of Israel, Moses, gives us these words:

"And thou shalt love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might.  And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them always to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you arise."

The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.  And Jesus tells us that God is Love.  So when we discover our true Self, and come to truly know ourselves, then Love surprises us with our own greatness.  Love is not only our greatest pleasure, it is also our greatest example of the Oneness and Wholeness of God. 

Mark 10:9 "(But) from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;  And they two shall be one flesh: so then they are no more two, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

The Words of the Lord Buddha echo the same thoughts, acknowledging that the depth of love is Truth, that great Knowing from which Love is born.

            "The greatest happiness which a mortal man can imagine is the bond of marriage that ties together two loving hearts.  But, there is a greater happiness still; and that is the embrace of Truth.

            Conditions may separate husband and wife, but conditions will never affect him who has embraced the Truth.  Therefore be married to the Truth and live with the Truth in holy wedlock."

            "I say to you, that your wedlock will be holiness and bliss, and your children will become like unto their parents and bear witness to their happiness."

            We recognize that Groom and Bride, by revealing the Truth of their innermost being to each other, have found the God of Love within. 

            In revealing their love to us and making a public commitment of that love they have made a choice.  The choice of their life is that they shall live with purpose, and that their purpose is to create a holy relationship to serve God together, to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and to so let the light of their love shine before the world that they are a guiding beacon for others.  Their commitment is not simply to each other, but to the Highest Good for all.

Again, the words of Emmett Fox:

"Love is the motive power in Mind, and it is the quality of Love in Mind that leads it to seek for fuller and fuller expression, for Love always must be expressed.  What we call Service .... is really Love in action."

It is so beautiful to be part of this celebration in which this couple joins their love for each other with their love through service and contributing to the world environment through their work in Environmental protection, conflict resolution, and World Peace.

Groom and Bride were brought together by their similar goals and ideals and have dedicated their lives to a special love, as the poet Antoine de Saint Exupery put it:

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other,

But in looking outward together in the same direction."

The Harmony of Life, the true source of Peace on Earth starts with two people who learn to live with each other in that deep harmony of the shared vision of the future.

Prayer of Blessing:  Let us pray:

            Eternal Spirit.  Life.  Truth and Substance of all, with whom to be in conscious union is joy, and from whom to feel separated is darkness, may this man and this woman who have entered into this spiritual union always be conscious of Your indwelling Presence.  May they be one with each other as they are ever now with You.  May they rejoice in perfect love and peace together, and live always in accord with the true law of their Divine Being.  Amen.

Pouring Wine from the Parents' bottles into the Pitcher

Will the parents of both the bride and the groom please stand and come forward.  "Do you promise to give your continuing love and support to this marriage in the years ahead?

Answer: We do.

Each of you has given something of yourselves to the lives of Groom and Bride.  In the future, let them know that you, who have helped shape their lives and helped bring them to this point, will continue to uphold them and encourage them in their life together.

            Symbolizing the lifeblood of the human family, we ask that both families pour the wine of blessing first into their own cups and then into this pitcher, representing the joining of these two lineages.
 

Reading, the Prophet: On Marriage

"Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master?

And he answered saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

 

Love one another, but make not a bond of love;

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your soul.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

 

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone thought they quiver with the same music.

 

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."
 

Extemporary words by the best man, ending with a toast

The parents drink and The Couple drink, each from their own glass with arms intertwined.
 

Vows:  Groom, please repeat after me:

Groom:

I give myself to you

to be your partner in life

to share all the circumstances of life

and to be together.

I will reveal all of my Truth to you

and hear all the truth of your being.

I will support you in fulfilling all of your potential.

And, I love you.

Bride: 

I give myself to you

to be your partner in life

to share all the circumstances of life

and to be together.

I will reveal all of my Truth to you

and hear all the truth of your being.

I will support you in fulfilling all of your potential.

And, I love you.

Rings:  What token do you give of your sincerity?

            Bless O God, this ring, that he who gives it and she who wears it may always abide in Your peace, living together in unity, in love, and in happiness, and with good purpose do Your will. Amen

            This ring is a symbol of the unbroken unity of Truth now to be symbolized in your married life.

Groom: With this ring, I thee wed.  Let it always be to us a symbol of eternal love.  As a token of our faithfulness, I place it upon your hand.

Bride: As a token of our faithfulness, I give it place upon my hand.

What token do you give of your sincerity?

            Bless O God, this ring, that she who gives it and he who wears it may always abide in Your peace, living together in unity, in love, and in happiness, and with good purpose do Your will. Amen

            This ring is a symbol of the unbroken unity of Truth now to be symbolized in your married life.

Bride: With this ring, I thee wed.  Let it always be to us a symbol of eternal love.  As a token of our faithfulness, I place it upon your hand.

Groom: As a token of our faithfulness, I give it place upon my hand.

Benediction:  A blessing from the Native American tradition:

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you shall be shelter for the other; now you shall feel no cold, for each of you shall be warmth for the other; now you will feel no loneliness, for each of you shall be companionship for the other; now you are two persons -- but there is only One Life between you and through you."

Inasmuch as you, Groom and you, Bride Bride , have consented together in bonds of wedlock and have witnessed the same before God and these present and have pledged your faith each to the other, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may seal your pledge with a kiss.

Ceremony of the Roses

            As a representative of the church and these friends and family present, I present you with your first gifts as a married couple.

            Roses are the classic symbol of love.  In the language of flowers the pink rose represents the divine mixture of the red of human passion and the white of pure spirit. 

            It is realistic to acknowledge that there will be times in the ebb and flow of life when there will be misunderstandings and the emotion of anger will arise.   There will be times of great disturbance or distance between you.  To acknowledge, and to prepare for, these times is to take away their power.

            Today, take these roses into your new home and create a place for them there.  Let that place be forever acknowledged as the symbol of the true power of your marriage -- the power of Love -- love to overcome all differences, Love which conquers the greatest anger, Love which spans all distances.

            Whenever it needs to be said, and the words just won't come, either of you may place a pink rose in the place you create today to say, simply, "I love you".  Not necessarily, "I am wrong," just "I love you."

            Remember, "The greatest of all is love."

I now present to you the new Mr. and Mrs. Groom.