Wedding Blessing Service

This service has served me well in anniversary and post civil registration blessing service settings. Saw a request for one, so I thought I'd post it here (as it will soon be replaced at the top of the pile by other posts):

A Celebration of Thanksgiving for marriage

Entry to  . . .

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of The Holy Spirit be with you all. 

And also with you.

God is love, and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them.

Prayer of Preparation

God our Father, you have taught us through your Son

That love is the fulfilling of the law;

Grant to your servants BOB and BETTY that, loving one another,

They may continue in your love until their lives’ end;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn

We have come together in the presence of God

To give thanks with BOB and BETTY for their marriage,

To rejoice together and to ask for God’s blessing.

As our Lord Jesus Christ was himself a guest

At the wedding in Cana of Galilee, so through his Spirit he is with us now.

Marriage is a gift of God in creation and a means of his grace;

It is given that a husband and wife may comfort and help each other,

Living faithfully together in times of need as well as in plenty,

In sadness and in joy, in sickness and in health;

It is given that with delight and tenderness they may know each other in Love.

It is given as the foundation of family life in which children may be born and Nurtured in accordance with God’s will, to his praise and glory.

In marriage a couple belong together and live life in the community;

It is a way of life created and hallowed by God, that all should honour.

Therefore we pray with them that, strengthened and guided by God,

They may continue to fulfil his purpose for their life together.

Readings and Sermon

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love 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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

When 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. Now 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.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Hymn

The Sermon                           

Renewal of Vows 

I invite you now to recall the vows that you made at your wedding.

(BOB and BETTY face each other and hold hands.)

The husband says:   I, BOB, took you, BETTY , to be my wife;

The wife says:   I, BETTY, took you, BOB, to be my husband;

The couple say together:

To have and to hold from that day forward,

For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,

In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish,

‘Til death us do part, according to God’s holy law,

And this was our solemn vow.

Today, in the presence of our family and friends,

We affirm our continuing commitment to this vow.

The minister says to the congregation

Will you, the family and friends of BOB and BETTY, continue to support and uphold them in their marriage now and in the years to come?

We will.

Blessing of the Rings

Heavenly Father, source of everlasting love, revealed to us in Jesus Christ

And poured into our hearts through your Holy Spirit;

That love which many waters cannot quench, neither the floods drown;

That love which is patient and kind, enduring all things without end;

By your blessing, let these rings be to BOB and BETTY symbols to remind them Of the covenant made on their wedding day,

Through your grace in the love of your Son

And in the power of your Spirit.  Amen.

BETTY, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage.

With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you,

And all that I have I share with you,

Within the love of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

BOB, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage.

With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you,

And all that I have I share with you,

Within the love of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Prayers (BOB and BETTY kneel together. )

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit,

Bless, preserve and keep you;

The Lord mercifully grant you the riches of his grace

That you may please him both in body and soul,

And, living together in faith and love,

May receive the blessings of eternal life.  Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we lift up our hearts to you

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through him you have made a covenant of grace with your people

By the outpouring of your Holy Spirit.

We praise you for the gift of marriage in which the love of husband and wife Is brought together and reflects your plan of love for the world.

We thank you today for BOB and BETTY and for leading them to each other

In friendship and love, commitment and trust,

For bringing them here for the blessing of their marriage.

Now, by the presence of your Holy Spirit may they know the risen Christ to Be with them now as they celebrate this covenant together.

May their lives be a witness to your saving love in this troubled world.

As you pour out your love, may they grow together in your sight,

And each be to the other a companion in joy,

A comfort in sorrow and a strength in need.

We thank you for the gift of life that is children and ask for your blessing on BOB and BETTY. May they be a comfort and joy, support and strength to them In the years to come and all the days of their lives. Amen.

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come, your will be done,

On earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

Now and for ever. Amen.

BOB and BETTY pray together

Heavenly Father,

We offer you our souls and bodies,

Our thoughts and words and deeds,

Our love for one another.

Unite our wills in your will,

That we may grow together

In love and peace all the days of our life;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Blessing

God the Holy Trinity make you strong in faith and love,

Defend you on every side, and guide you in truth and peace;

And the blessing of God Almighty,

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

Exit  . . . .