NON DENOMINATIONAL CEREMONY # 2

OFFICIANT: Welcome to this great occasion. On behalf of ______ and_________ allow me to express my thanks for you being here today.We’ve all looked forward to this moment. Some of you have a shared history with _______ and _________. You marvel at the uniqueness of these two friends and how God has brought them together. Some of you, quite frankly, have waited a long time for this day to come.

But God is the master of timing.___________ and ______________, God brought the two of you together. He planned the circumstances, He molded your lives and He’s been in control of the timing so that both of you would be exactly what He wants you to be --- suitable for one another. He didn’t want you to be married two years ago or a year ago because it wasn’t His time. You weren’t ready then, but I believe that you’re ready now. I believe that you have the necessary spiritual sensitivity to make your marriage pleasing to God. Because of what is at stake, this ceremony carries tremendous importance and significance. Would you bow your heads and turn your thoughts to the Lord as we commit this ceremony to God.

OFFICIANT: Our Father we thank you for the gift of marriage, for the beauty of intimate companionship, a companionship in which we can know and be known, in which we can share freely and be accepted completely. Thank you for this taste of Your great unconditional love for us. May this commitment be voiced by ________ and ______today in this ceremony reflect uniquely to the world this great love and bring glory to Your name. And may it remind each of us of the purpose of our marriages and encourage us to fulfill the vows that we have made to one another. In Jesus name, we all say Amen.

OFFICIANT: Sermon on Marriage and Family

OFFICIANT: ________ and _________, you have come together before your family and friends so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of the Church's minister and this community. Christ abundantly blesses this 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.

OFFICIANT: _______ and _______ have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?

COUPLE: We have.

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

COUPLE: We will.

OFFICIANT: Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the laws of Christ and his Church?

COUPLE: We will.

VOWS OF SUPPORT

OFFICIANT: Will the parents please stand?

OFFICIANT: 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

OFFICIANT: 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: INSERT VOWS

GROOM: INSERT VOWS

OFFICIANT: 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: _______, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity for as long as we both shall live. In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

BRIDE: _______, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity for as long as we both shall live. In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

OFFICIANT: _____ and ______ , today you joined your separate lives together. The two separate bottles of sand symbolize your separate lives, separate families and separate set of friends. They represent all that you are as individuals. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, they are joined together as one. Just as you have been joined today.

OFFICIANT: The Lord God who created our first parents and established them in marriage, establish and sustain you, that you may find delight in each other and grow in holy life’s end. Amen.

OFFICIANT: You may kiss the bride.

OFFICIANT: I am proud to present as husband and wife Mr. and Mrs.______________

Recessional