Ceremony
The Marriage of
Brittni and Phillip
Saturday the Eighteenth of June
Two Thousand and Eleven
At Four Thirty in the Afternoon
To the Marriage Guest
The bride and groom are honored by your presence. Since a Christian wedding is the corporate worship of all the faithful who are gathered in the presence of God, we ask that you participate actively by responding to the prayers.
Marriage is ordained by God, and God is to be worshipped in all that we do here today. Let there be joy and thanksgiving for the blessing which the Lord of the Church has bestowed upon His people. Let us pray that the covenant which God had established in His Church will seal the covenant now made between this man and this woman.
We also ask that you offer a prayer that God’s blessing may rest upon those who are at this time being united in the holy estate of matrimony.
The bride and groom wish to express their thanks to parents, friends and family for all their support throughout life and for sharing in this special day of celebration and blessing.
PRELUDE IN MY LIFE by THE BEATLES
Stand
PROCESSIONAL HERE COMES THE SUN by THE BEATLES
GREETING
P The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C And also with you.
P Family and friends, we are gathered here as people of God to witness the marriage of Brittni and Phillip.
We come to share in their joy and to ask God to bless them.
Marriage is a gift of God, sealed by a sacred covenant. God Gives human love. Through that love, Brittni and Phillip come to know each other with mutual care and companionship. God gives joy. Through that joy Brittni and Phillip may share their new life with others.
With our love and our prayers, we support Brittni and Phillip as they freely give themselves to each other.
PRAYER
P Let us pray.
Gracious God, always faithful in your love for us, we rejoice in your presence. You create love. You unite us in one human family. You offer your word and lead us in light. You open your loving arms and embrace us with strength.
May the presence of Christ fill our hearts with new joy and make new the lives of your servants whose marriage we celebrate. Bless all creation through this sign o f your love of Brittni and Phillip for each other.
May the power of your Holy Spirit sustain them and al of us in love that knows no end.
C Amen
Sit
FIRST READING: 1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to that poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, 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 completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a 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.
SECOND LESSON: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12
9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Homily Pastor June
DECLARATION OF INTENTION
P Before God and this congregation, I now ask you to affirm your willingness to enter this covenant of marriage and to share all the joy and sorrows of this new relationship, whatever the future may hold.
Phillip, will you have Brittni to be your wife, and will you love her faithfully as long as you both shall live?
R I will, with the help of God.
P Brittni, will you have Phillip to be your husband, and will you love him faithfully as long as you both shall live?
R I will, with the help of God.
VOWS
I (Phillip/Brittni) take you (Phillip/Brittni) to be my (husband/wife) my partner in life, my best friend and my one true love. I will trust and respect you, encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you and to always hold you in highest regard. These things I give to you today, and all of the days of our life.
GIVING OF RINGS
I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MARRIAGE
P Brittni and Phillip, you have committed yourselves to each other in this joyous and scared covenant. Become one, fulfill your promises, love and serve God, honor Christ and each other, and rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit.
By promises made before us this day, Phillip and Brittni have united themselves as husband and wife in sacred covenant. Those whom God has joined together let no one separate.
BLESSING
P the grace of Christ attend you, the love of God surround you, the Holy Spirit keep you that you may grow in holy love, find delight in each other always and remain faithful until your life’s end.
C Amen.
THE SAND CEREMONY
GROW OLD WITH ME by JOHN LENNON
Your union will now be symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand. Each color represents you, Brittni and Phillip, and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be before this union. As your individual sands come together it reminds us that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord”. I ask now that you each take your sand and pour them into the one vase.
Brittni and Phillip, while it’s important that you both maintain your individuality, it is our hope that you will become as inseparable as these grains of sand, and always find yourselves to be one in love, commitment and joy.
PRAYERS
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
Let us bless God for all the gifts in which we rejoice today.
Lord God, constant in mercy, great in faithfulness: With high praise we recall your acts of unfailing love for the human family, for the house of Israel, and for your people the Church.
P We bless you for the joy which your servants, Phillip and Brittni, have found in each other, and pray that you give to us such a sense of your constant love that we may employ all our strength in a life of praise of you, whose work alone holds true and endures forever.
C Amen.
P Let us pray for Brittni and Phillip in their life together.
Faithful Lord, source of love, pour down your grace upon Brittni and Phillip, that they may fulfill the vows they have made this day and reflect your steadfast love in their life-long faithfulness to each other. As members with them of the body of Christ, use us to support their life together; and from your great store of strength give them power and patience, affection and understanding, courage, and love toward you, toward each other, and toward the world, that they may continue together in mutual growth according to your will in Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen.
P Let us pray for all families throughout the world.
Gracious Father, you bless the family and renew your people. Enrich husbands and wives, parents and children more and more with your grace, that, strengthening and supporting each other, they may serve those in need and be a sign of the fulfillment of your perfect kingdom, where, with your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, one God through all ages of ages.
C Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
C Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
and 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, forever and ever. Amen.
BLESSING
P Almighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, keep you in his light and truth and love now and forever.
C Amen.
INTRODUCTION OF MARRIAGE COUPLE
RECESSIONAL
EIGHT DAYS A WEEK by THE BEATLES
Brittni and Phillip
Saturday the Eighteenth of June
Two Thousand and Eleven
At Four Thirty in the Afternoon
To the Marriage Guest
The bride and groom are honored by your presence. Since a Christian wedding is the corporate worship of all the faithful who are gathered in the presence of God, we ask that you participate actively by responding to the prayers.
Marriage is ordained by God, and God is to be worshipped in all that we do here today. Let there be joy and thanksgiving for the blessing which the Lord of the Church has bestowed upon His people. Let us pray that the covenant which God had established in His Church will seal the covenant now made between this man and this woman.
We also ask that you offer a prayer that God’s blessing may rest upon those who are at this time being united in the holy estate of matrimony.
The bride and groom wish to express their thanks to parents, friends and family for all their support throughout life and for sharing in this special day of celebration and blessing.
PRELUDE IN MY LIFE by THE BEATLES
Stand
PROCESSIONAL HERE COMES THE SUN by THE BEATLES
GREETING
P The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C And also with you.
P Family and friends, we are gathered here as people of God to witness the marriage of Brittni and Phillip.
We come to share in their joy and to ask God to bless them.
Marriage is a gift of God, sealed by a sacred covenant. God Gives human love. Through that love, Brittni and Phillip come to know each other with mutual care and companionship. God gives joy. Through that joy Brittni and Phillip may share their new life with others.
With our love and our prayers, we support Brittni and Phillip as they freely give themselves to each other.
PRAYER
P Let us pray.
Gracious God, always faithful in your love for us, we rejoice in your presence. You create love. You unite us in one human family. You offer your word and lead us in light. You open your loving arms and embrace us with strength.
May the presence of Christ fill our hearts with new joy and make new the lives of your servants whose marriage we celebrate. Bless all creation through this sign o f your love of Brittni and Phillip for each other.
May the power of your Holy Spirit sustain them and al of us in love that knows no end.
C Amen
Sit
FIRST READING: 1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to that poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, 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 completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a 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.
SECOND LESSON: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12
9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Homily Pastor June
DECLARATION OF INTENTION
P Before God and this congregation, I now ask you to affirm your willingness to enter this covenant of marriage and to share all the joy and sorrows of this new relationship, whatever the future may hold.
Phillip, will you have Brittni to be your wife, and will you love her faithfully as long as you both shall live?
R I will, with the help of God.
P Brittni, will you have Phillip to be your husband, and will you love him faithfully as long as you both shall live?
R I will, with the help of God.
VOWS
I (Phillip/Brittni) take you (Phillip/Brittni) to be my (husband/wife) my partner in life, my best friend and my one true love. I will trust and respect you, encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you and to always hold you in highest regard. These things I give to you today, and all of the days of our life.
GIVING OF RINGS
I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MARRIAGE
P Brittni and Phillip, you have committed yourselves to each other in this joyous and scared covenant. Become one, fulfill your promises, love and serve God, honor Christ and each other, and rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit.
By promises made before us this day, Phillip and Brittni have united themselves as husband and wife in sacred covenant. Those whom God has joined together let no one separate.
BLESSING
P the grace of Christ attend you, the love of God surround you, the Holy Spirit keep you that you may grow in holy love, find delight in each other always and remain faithful until your life’s end.
C Amen.
THE SAND CEREMONY
GROW OLD WITH ME by JOHN LENNON
Your union will now be symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand. Each color represents you, Brittni and Phillip, and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be before this union. As your individual sands come together it reminds us that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord”. I ask now that you each take your sand and pour them into the one vase.
Brittni and Phillip, while it’s important that you both maintain your individuality, it is our hope that you will become as inseparable as these grains of sand, and always find yourselves to be one in love, commitment and joy.
PRAYERS
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
Let us bless God for all the gifts in which we rejoice today.
Lord God, constant in mercy, great in faithfulness: With high praise we recall your acts of unfailing love for the human family, for the house of Israel, and for your people the Church.
P We bless you for the joy which your servants, Phillip and Brittni, have found in each other, and pray that you give to us such a sense of your constant love that we may employ all our strength in a life of praise of you, whose work alone holds true and endures forever.
C Amen.
P Let us pray for Brittni and Phillip in their life together.
Faithful Lord, source of love, pour down your grace upon Brittni and Phillip, that they may fulfill the vows they have made this day and reflect your steadfast love in their life-long faithfulness to each other. As members with them of the body of Christ, use us to support their life together; and from your great store of strength give them power and patience, affection and understanding, courage, and love toward you, toward each other, and toward the world, that they may continue together in mutual growth according to your will in Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen.
P Let us pray for all families throughout the world.
Gracious Father, you bless the family and renew your people. Enrich husbands and wives, parents and children more and more with your grace, that, strengthening and supporting each other, they may serve those in need and be a sign of the fulfillment of your perfect kingdom, where, with your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, one God through all ages of ages.
C Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
C Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
and 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, forever and ever. Amen.
BLESSING
P Almighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, keep you in his light and truth and love now and forever.
C Amen.
INTRODUCTION OF MARRIAGE COUPLE
RECESSIONAL
EIGHT DAYS A WEEK by THE BEATLES
