Union Ceremony
Entry Song: Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto
Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of these two women in a Life Partnership.
The union of two Partners in heart, body and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; this Union is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and deliberately
Dear friends of us all: You are entering into that Holy estate which is the deepest mystery of experience and the very sacrament of Divine Love.
It is a chief moment in life when two people, who were strangers to each other, are drawn together by an irresistible attraction, so that their souls cannot be henceforth divided by time or space; when one person sees in a another that dream of purity and sweetness which has ever haunted her soul; when in the other, each find finds the rest and satisfaction her heart has been unconsciously seeking. It is a revelation from above and makes all things new; it is the hand of Providence and annuls every argument of worldly providence. You are performing an act of utter faith, believing in each other to the utmost.
Partner 1, will you have this woman to be your Partner, to live together in the covenant of Love? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?
Partner 1: I will.
Partner 2 will you have this woman to be your Partner; to live together in the covenant of Love: Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?
Partner 2: I will.
Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these two persons in their Union?
People: We will.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
"First Corinthians, Chapter thirteen, is a practical picture of life. For many of us it seems to be an ideal which we cannot ever live up to. However it is not a prescription, it is a description of the way that love is when it surprises us; in the moments in which we suddenly find ourselves forgiving, when everyone knows we have every right to hold the resentment. It is when we understand that we are truly one in the Spirit. It is when we have discovered the Indwelling Christ, the Divine personality which sees all things rightly -- and which still forgives ignorance, and insecurity, and fear. It is the Perfect Love which pushes out all fear by filling all the dark and fearful places with Light. Each of us is created in the image and likeness of God. 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 protection.
The Apostle Paul says, "And now I will show you the best way of all. I may speak in tongues of men or angels, but if I am without love, I am a sounding gong, or a clanging cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy, and know every hidden truth; I may have faith strong enough to move mountains; but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may dole out all I possess, or even give my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, I am none the better."
'Unless there is love in the heart, the tongue, howsoever eloquent, must have a metallic sound. It is when there is deep sincerity and an even deeper love that the intellect becomes the servant of the Spirit. Paul tells us that the gift of prophecy, the understanding of mysteries and the acquisition of all knowledge is as nothing compared to love. Even the faith that can move mountains, without love, is of no avail.'
"Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offense."
'It is when the self goes with the gift that it becomes an offering of love. The intellect and heart must go hand in hand. The altar of faith is profaned unless the gift laid on it is one of love. Nothing can profit us except it be of the nature of love. Though we burn the body or feed the poor, or speak with angelic tongues, and have not love, there is no profit in any of it.'
'Love never envies, does not vaunt itself, is not puffed up. It is this kind of love that is the fulfilling of the law of righteousness. Laws in themselves are but mechanical forces, and being mechanical, can harm as well as aid. Should we bring every law in nature under subjection and learn to control all physical forces and use them without love, we should destroy ourselves. Love only is the fulfilling of the law, bringing its use to those high purposes that bind us back to the heart of the Universe. Love waits for the fulfillment of the law. It is kind and does not envy. It seeks not its own and thinks no evil.'
'Love cannot seek its own as through it were separated from others. We are universal at the source and any act which tends to isolate us from our source tends to separate us from our Divine Nature. Because all are rooted in one life, any attempt to arrive at a good which is not shared is an attempt to isolate us from Good Itself.'--- and from our God.
"In a word, there are three things that last for ever; faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of them all is love."
'Faith is good, hope is good, but love alone reveals the Divine. Following the guidance of Divine Love we finally come to know ourselves and each other as we already are known in the Spirit. Our intellect, emotion and will must become subject to love before they can follow the pathway of its light back to the central flame of the self-existent Cause.'
There is but One Spirit, One Source of All, One Life, One Perfect Being:
And we know that we are within that One right now. We recognize that Partner 2 and Partner 1, by revealing 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.
We give thanks for Partner 2 and for Partner 1 and for their life together. We give thanks for the blessings which Spirit has given, of Life, of thought, and of endless opportunity. We give thanks for the blessings which Nature has already bestowed upon them in the forms of healthy bodies, supporting family, good friends, work, and play.
We release, right now, any ideas of lack or limitation, any thoughts of separation, anything less than the perfect blessing that we would ask for ourselves. And I release these words to the One Spirit and the One Mind which has created, and continues to create, every one of us.
And so it is, Amen.
From the Book of Ruth, Chapter 1, Verses 16-17, we find the following words. These words are often heard in Wedding/Marriage Ceremonies, however few who hear them realize that they are most rightly spoken, and were spoken, by one woman to another.
Answering Naomi’s plea for her to return and live with her own people, “Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
Minister: Please face each other and hold right hands.
Minister: What symbol do you give of your pledge?
Minister: These rings are symbols of the endless circle of spiritual love that links you, spirit to spirit and soul to soul, in eternal love.
Minister: Bless, O Lord this ring that she who gives it and she who wears it may ever abide in Your peace, living together in unity, in love and in happiness, and with good purpose to do Your will. Amen
Partner 2: I give you this ring
as a symbol of my vow,
and with all that I am,
and all that I have,
I honor you,
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Minister: Bless, O Lord this ring that she who gives it and she who wears it may ever abide in Your peace, living together in unity, in love and in happiness, and with good purpose to do Your will. Amen
Partner 1: I give you this ring
as a symbol of my vow,
and with all that I am,
and all that I have,
I honor you,
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3 Candle Ceremony, Rev.
Maureen
Christopher
These candles, with two lighted candles and one unlighted, symbolizes the new beginning, the new way that has been chosen. As each of them take a lighted candle, representing their previous pathways, they now together light the central candle symbolizing their oneness in life which will be lighted by God's love as it blesses, inspires and guides them. They do not extinguish their individual lights, but know that together the three lights shall cast an even brighter radiance into the world.
I would like to share with you this reading by Mary Carolyn Davies: This is Friendship.
"I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out. I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart and passing over all the frivolous and weak things that you cannot help seeing there, and drawing out into the light all the beautiful, radiant things that no one else has looked quite far enough to find. I love you for ignoring the possibilities of the fool in me and for laying firm hold of the possibilities of good in me. I love you for closing your eyes to the discords in me, and adding to the music in me by worshipful listening ...."
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 couple 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.
Most Gracious God, we thank you for consecrating this union. By the power of your Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon this couple. Defend them from every enemy. Lead them into all peace. Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts; a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their heads. Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death. Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that table where your saints feast forever in your heavenly home; through Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, on God, for ever and ever.
God bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting.
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Inasmuch as you Partner 2 and Partner 1 have consented together and have witnessed the same before God and these present, and have pledged your faith each to the other, I now bless you as Life Partners in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
You may kiss each other.
(Get the roses from the Maid of Honor)
Minister: As a representative of the church and these friends and family present, I present you with your first gifts as a committed couple.
Roses are the classic symbol of love. In the language of romance it is the rose that most represents the love between two people. The color pink is the perfect blending of the red of human passion and the pure white of 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. Take these roses into your home and create a place for them there. Let that place be forever acknowledged as the symbol of the true power of your relationship, 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."
I now present to you this newly committed couple, Partner 2 and Partner 1. Please extend your congratulations to Partner 2 and Partner 1 at this time.