Christian - Jewish Ceremony

Pastor Bob: Who presents this woman to this man?

Father: Her mother and I

Pastor Bob: Ashley and Eric have chosen to marry and to invite God into their family. Their love united two different lives, family, friends and faiths. They have chosen to focus on their common values, goals and beliefs and recognizing and respecting the differences.

Ashley and Eric recognize that Christianity was developed from Jewish roots and incorporates Jewish tradition. Ashley and Eric have created this ceremony by weaving the threads of the two traditions into a fabric that represents who they are together. As we bless this marriage under the huppa, the Jewish symbol of the new home being consummated here, we will later light the unity candle, the Christian symbol of two becoming one in marriage.

Now let us pray for the success of Ashley and Eric’s marriage and much happiness for them in the years to come.

Pastor Bob: God, we ask that You bestow Your blessing upon Ashley and Eric as they begin this new chapter in their lives. We ask that You guide and direct them to live their lives in accordance with Your will. We ask that they be courageous leaders of their family and that they have a long, happy and healthy life together. We pray this in Your name. Amen

Reader:"The Art Of Marriage"

by Wilferd A. Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.

A good marriage must be created.

In the art of marriage the little things are the big things...

It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.

It is never going to sleep angry.

It is at no time taking the other for granted;

the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,

it should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.

It is standing together facing the world.

It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude

of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation

and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience,

understanding and a sense of humour.

It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.

It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,

dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

It is discovering what marriage canbe at its best.

Reader:

GENESIS CHAPTER 2 VERSES 18 - 24

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper right for him.”

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; what man named each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the farm animals, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

But for Adam no proper helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife.

Pastor Bob: Message

Pastor Bob: Ashley & Eric, you have come together before this community so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of His minister and this community. God abundantly blesses your love. May this blessing strengthen you so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity. And so, in the presence of this community, I ask you to state your intentions.

Pastor Bob: Ashley and Eric have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?

Couple: We have.

Pastor Bob: Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?

Couple: We will.

Pastor Bob: Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to God’s laws?

Couple: We will.

Pastor Bob: Will the parents please stand?

Pastor Bob: Do you as parents promise to pray for and support your children in the new relationship that they enter as husband and wife? If so, say “WE DO”.

PARENTS: We Do

Pastor Bob: All of you who will witness these vows, will you do everything in your power to support and uphold these two people in their marriage? If so, then say “We Will”.

FAMILY & FRIENDS: We Will

Bride: I, Ashley, take you Eric, to be my husband, I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

Groom: I, Eric, take you Ashley, to be my wife, I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

Pastor Bob: Every covenant has a sign or symbol to remind each party of the responsibilities he or she brings to the relationship. These rings are a symbol of your love. They are a visible reminder to you and all others that what you have promised you will do. Wear them as a constant reminder that you are pledged together and committed to one another for life.

Groom: Ashley, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity for as long as we both shall live.

Bride: Eric, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity for as long as we both shall live.

Pastor Bob: Now that you have given yourselves in marriage it is time to symbolize that Union by lighting the unity candle. Before this ceremony began your mother’s lit individual candles to symbolize your individual lives. You will now take these individual candles and light the unity candle to symbolize your new union. May your life be bright and may your life together be light, may this candle be a symbol of your love.

Pastor Bob: Seven Blessings (can be done in Hebrew by a guest or by me in English or both).

1. You are blessed, Lord our God, the sovereign of the world, who created everything for his glory.

2. You are blessed, Lord our God, the sovereign of the world, the creator of man.

3. You are blessed, Lord our God, the sovereign of the world, who created man in His image, in the pattern of His own likeness, and provided for the perpetuation of his kind. You are blessed, Lord, the creator of man.

4. Let the barren city be jubilantly happy and joyful at her joyous reunion with her children. You are blessed, Lord, who makes Zion rejoice with her children.

5. Let the loving couple be very happy, just as You made Your creation happy in the garden of Eden, so long ago. You are blessed, Lord, who makes the bridegroom and the bride happy.

6. You are blessed, Lord our God, the sovereign of the world, who created joy and celebration, bridegroom and bride, rejoicing, jubilation, pleasure and delight, love and brotherhood, peace and friendship. May there soon be heard, Lord our God, in the cities of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of celebration, the voice of a bridegroom and the voice of a bride, the happy shouting of bridegrooms from their weddings and of young men from their feasts of song. You are blessed, Lord, who makes the bridegroom and the bride rejoice together.

7. You are blessed, Lord our God, the sovereign of the world, creator of the fruit of the vine.

Pastor Bob: According to Jewish tradition at the conclusion of the blessings, the groom breaks the glass with his right foot, and in keeping with tradition Eric will break the glass.

Pastor Bob: It is now my privilege to present for the first time as husband and wife, Mr.& Mrs. Eric _________.

Recessional