Wedding Notebook
a resource of the Long Green Valley
Church of the Brethren
Participation of the Congregation
The wedding service is a worship service in which the guests are fellow worshipers, not spectators. A wedding taking place within a community of faith gives that community, our church, the opportunity to publicly affirm and declare our support of you.
There are many possibilities for involving the congregation, from singing hymns to joining in responsive readings, either from scripture, or from a litany you have written. One or several persons from the congregation could be asked to share a thought, a challenge or a "blessing." Persons beside the minister could be asked to read scriptures, lead in prayer, or give a short meditation. But it is also good to give those gathered a more formal opportunity to pledge support of you as you enter marriage. Below are some examples. Some need to be fully in the bulletin. Others can just be spoken by minister, with the congregation giving their support with a "we will," or by standing. You may feel free also to create your own.
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A. We as a congregation also want to declare our support of your relationship. You have invited all of us to share this special moment with you. And so we are here as your guests. But we are more than your guests. We are participants with you in this service of worship and commitment. As participants and friends, we all want to affirm your relationship and your marriage. We know that you will be good for each other. We all pledge to you our friendship, our prayers, our council, our caring, and our continued support of your marriage.
B. As a community of friends, we too want to express our support of your marriage. We rejoice with you in this celebration of love. We affirm your relationship and your marriage. Our presence here is an indication and a pledge to you of our friendship and our caring support of your marriage relationship. And since we are not only a community of friends, but also a community of faith, we want to express our support and faith kinship by praying for you.
C. Question to congregation: Will you also pledge your support for ________ and ________, in their
marriage relationship? Will you surround them with your friendship and caring as they seek to build a Christian home? Will you promise to be with them in times of need when they seek your support?D. A LITANY OF LIFE
Minister:
Within the covenant of marriage, we experience life intimately in its many
dimensions: Congregation:...the wonder as two become one yet remain two; the
beauty, strength, and healing of understanding and compassion communicated to
glance of touch, the mystery of change and diversity that continually challenges
us to grow, learn, and adapt. These bring joy in their presence, sorrow in their
absence. These are the intimacies of love.
Couple: We experience
mystery--
Minister: .... to leap
into the unknown, not always knowing why.
Congregation:...to stand in a garden
and sense "it is created for you." But not fully comprehend our
purpose and responsibilities.
Couple: We cherish
joy--
Minister: ...to
recognize differences and expect the spontaneous; to rejoice in surprise and
laugh with each other.
Congregation: ...to
experience in the garden the presence of God, encouraging us to continue
discovering each other.
Couple: We accept
sorrow--
Minister: ...to
experience the tragic and to feel the incompleteness and limitedness of our
lives; to know separation and to anticipate our own death.
Congregation: ...to
regret unfulfilled dreams and promises, but to rededicate ourselves to what we
can accomplish; to recognize the uncertainty of life and to accept it as a gift.
Minister: Look outward from the strength and security of your own love to remain
sensitive and receptive to the needs of others.
Couple: We want to
conduct our life together in such a way as to be a part of humanity's joy and
pride.
Minister: Then let your
beliefs, traditions, and values be transmitted with love and conviction to your
children and to the community in which you reside.
Couple: And we will
seek to discover abilities and recognize limits, to exercise freely within our
capacities and to encourage life affirmation in others.
Congregation: ________ and
________, we accept and respond to you. We will share with you our
encouragement, experiences, and perspectives with trust and openness. Although
our values and opinions may differ from yours, we do not ask you to be other
than you are in order to receive our support and friendship. We promise you, on
this day of covenant making, that as long as we are in relation with you, we
shall listen to you, consoling your sorrow, sharing the happiness of you joy,
supporting you through the uncertainties.
Minister: May the One
who has created and sustains us, hearing our words to each other, grant blessing
to this couple, their families, and their friends. Amen
E. (See "Call to Worship" item "M").
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format ©2001 Peter
L. Haynes
actual worship items come from a variety of sources
please use!