Wedding Ceremony
Cameron and Cassandra Bromley
December 5th, 2009
Call to order ............................
Dear family and friends
Of Cameron and Cassandra—
We are privileged to be partners today
in celebrating and honoring
the bonding of two special lives together—
and to witness the emergence
of something new
and vibrant
and change-making in our world—
a shared life
of love and commitment,
of purpose and passion,
of values and honor
Presentation of the bride ……………
Do you, Craig and Lynne, celebrate this step of Cassie to share and unite her life with Cameron?
[You may be seated.]
The Goal of marriage . ……………..
By all accounts,
The union of two lives in a marriage
Is a fundamentally primordial
and uniquely powerful
creation.
It is more than just a covenant, or a cultural ritual—
It has a transcendent, spiritual, and perhaps even metaphysical dimension to it—
Though it is enacted through public witnesses, words and signatures,
This public statement of an explicit commitment to a lifelong union
—for whatever mix of the pleasant and the unpleasant experiences of life await—
Mystically transforms a subjective reality into an objective reality.
It brings the internal and private heart-life union of two people into the external and shared world of all people.
It takes the attraction, attachment and companionship of two souls
And begins to forge them and sculpt them into a union
stronger than stone or steel,
more powerful than fire or wind,
more fertile than soil or song—
a union meant to endure and overcome the many forces that may assail it in the future.
The goal of marriage is to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
To create ripples of life and laughter, solace and celebration,
To create sanctuary for other lives, and to offer encouragement for the good
and to outrun evil, apathy, and treachery with value, passion, and loyalty.
And in so doing, it will reflect and refract the beauty, robustness, faithfulness and vibrancy of the inner life of the Living God.
Meaning of the wedding rings ……………………..
Wedding rings are ordinary rings, materially speaking. They are made the same as other rings, they are sized the same, and they are displayed the same in the shopkeepers display.
But the second they are selected for your marriage and the minute they are exchanged here today, they change.
They start their own lives and begin to absorb—so to speak—your shared life.
In fifty years, when you look at the wedding ring on your finger, it will be a monument quietly witnessing to the ten-thousand times you said ‘yes’ to the needs and priority of your companion-- and ‘no’ to yourself,
and the ten-thousand times you said ‘no’ to subversive influences and ‘yes’ to commitment and character.
Let us start the lives of your wedding rings with your vows to one another:
Vows and exchanging of rings ………………….
Cameron, will you place your ring upon your beloved's hand?
(Cameron puts his ring on Cassie’s hand and holds it for the vow)
I, Cameron,
Take you, Cassandra,
To be my wife,
To have and to hold,
In sickness and health,
For better or for worse,
To treasure and delight in,
To share times of laughter and times of lament
As we create together
our adventure of a shared life.
I promise to honor you,
To cherish you,
To encourage you,
To support you,
To respect you,
To depend on you,
To always seek your welfare
To always trust your character.
I offer you my love and loyalty,
My pledge and my passion,
My honesty and my heart,
My companionship and my commitment,
All that I am today,
And all that I hope to become in our future.
For all the days of my life.
Cassandra, will you place your ring upon your beloved's hand?
(Cassie puts her ring on Cameron, and holds it during her vow)
I, Cassandra,
Take you, Cameron,
To be my husband,
To have and to hold,
In sickness and health,
For better or for worse,
To treasure and delight in,
To share times of laughter and times of lament
As we create together
our adventure of a shared life.
I promise to honor you,
To cherish you,
To encourage you,
To support you,
To respect you,
To depend on you,
To always seek your welfare
To always trust your character.
I offer you my love and loyalty,
My pledge and my passion,
My honesty and my heart,
My companionship and my commitment,
All that I am today,
And all that I hope to become in our future.
For all the days of my life.
The challenge to partnership ……………………….
I challenge you today -- to mutuality and partnership.
To respect one another's abilities and qualities,
to recognize and affirm the contributions of each other,
and to work together--as companions and partners--
on the many tasks, challenges, and responsibilities that are ahead of you,
as you sculpt your shared future.
The journey of life will be much more enjoyable,
And your shared life much more successful,
If the unique perspectives
which God will continue to develop in each of your lives
Are carefully harvested for their contributions.
Live each day as gift of wonder and of wildness
that is shared between you
- since from this day forward you shall be each other's home,
comfort and refuge,
your marriage strengthened and seasoned
by your delight in each day, in each other, and in each expression of God's designs in your future .
The challenge to sharing with others .............
I challenge you today -- to let your shared life spill over into the lives of others.
Your lives today are your own, but they have been shaped, enriched, and empowered by the lives of those who invested--consciously or not--in your past. Parents, family, friends-- and even the occasional stranger--have contributed to who you are today,
and their influence in your past will likewise be an influence in your future.
There is no real way to 'pay this investment back'--you can only 'pay this forward'.
Allow the richness which you have inherited
to blossom even further in your lives--
and pass this greater richness forward,
creating an even brighter bouquet of colors and delights
for you to share forward into the lives of those in your future.
Whether children or friends,
elders or youngsters,
intimates or strangers,
let your life spill over into the lives of those around you,
and of those yet to appear in your future.
Share, empower, and enrich their lives and the life of the community in which you live.
May the universe be a warmer and brighter and more colorful place,
because of the vows you are making today,
and because of the choices you make for each other every day hence.
The challenge to forgiveness ...............
And finally, I challenge you today -- to forgiveness and loyalty.
There will be times in life, in which the dance of success and celebration
is occasionally replaced with the somber dance of failure and forgiveness.
But this darker--and sometimes threatening-- dance can add both depth and increasing resilience to your marriage--as long as the dance is allowed to finish at forgiveness and reconciliation and renewal,
and thus to be enfolded into the larger dance of love and loyalty.
Be aggressive in honestly admitting failure and
be aggressive in offering intense forgiveness.
In the words of the Lord Jesus,
truth and forgiveness
truly sets people FREE.
Forgiveness can often be very costly
--as the Cross of Jesus revealed to us so clearly—
But love will bear that cost
without hesitation and without regrets
--as also shown at that Cross—
in its ever-hopeful
and tireless pursuit
Of a reconciliation which heals and strengthens and deepens,
Of an intimacy which warms and transforms,
And of a harmony which explodes
in joy and dance
and laughter and newness,
for all those who hear its music.
The foundation of ever-growing love (Scripture reading) ....
The Judeo-Christian religious tradition is surprisingly unique in its emphasis that the God of the Universe actually loves and delights in us. Almost all religious traditions envision God as powerful, and all-knowing. Many portray God as a Supreme Ruler, and perhaps as a just Judge--but the assertion that God's unfathomable being can be appropriately described by the New Testament phrase "God is love" was not something that the ancient world would have believed--and maybe not even have understood.
But the God as revealed in the Bible consistently is portrayed in terms of loyal love,
--and often in the images of marriage. Yahweh as the husband of Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church as the Bride of Christ are theological images of relationships defined by such love.
And the actions and responses of God toward humanity--as remembered in the pages of that Bible-- exhibit the same kind of tenacity, forgiveness, passion, calls to openness, and invitations to trust that you, Cameron and Cassandra, will be called upon to produce and manifest in your married life.
So it is not surprising to read in this “God is love” Bible of both the wildness of love and the strength of love.
God delights in the wildness of love in this passage from the Song of Songs:
Hang my locket around your neck,
wear my ring on your finger.
Love is invincible facing danger and death.
Passion laughs at the terrors of hell.
The fire of love stops at nothing—
it sweeps everything before it.
Flood waters can’t drown love,
torrents of rain can’t put it out.
Love can’t be bought, love can’t be sold—
it’s too priceless to be found in the marketplace.
And the strength and tenacity of love in this famous passage from I Corinthians:
"Love is very patient and kind,
never jealous or envious,
never boastful or proud.
Love is never haughty
or selfish
or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable or touchy.
Love does not hold grudges
and will hardly notice
when others do it wrong.
Love is never glad about injustice,
but rejoices whenever truth wins out.
If you love someone,
you will be loyal to them
no matter what the costs.
You will always believe in them,
always expect the best in them,
and will always stand your ground
in defending them."
Our hopes and prayers--and expectations--today are that love's wildness and strength will characterize the unfolding of your shared life before a watching world.
Please join with me in praying for Cassandra and Cameron, as they embark on this journey of love.
Prayer for Cameron and Cassandra ..........
Dear Heavenly Father,
our hearts are filled with happiness and hope
on this special day for Cameron and Cassandra,
as they come before You and this gathering
pledging their hearts, lives, love, and futures to one another.
Grant that they may be ever true and ever loving,
walking each day in such a way
as to never bring discouragement or heartbreak
into their marriage.
Strengthen and mature their hearts
with kindness and understanding,
with humility
and a commitment to honesty in their daily life with each other.
Help them to remember
to be each other's sweetheart,
best friend,
strongest supporter,
and deepest counselor,
so that together
they may face the
cares and challenges of life
more bravely,
more hopefully,
more calmly,
and more fruitfully
than they could alone.
May the home they are creating today
truly be a place of love and harmony,
where Your Spirit is always present
and always developing their relationship
--with each other, with their community, and with You.
May the life they create
be a source of warmth
and solace to many,
A garden of newness,
ever-blooming with
appreciation and honesty,
grace and peace,
compassion and comfort
for all those
whose hearts will be drawn
toward the light of their love.
Bless this marriage we pray
and walk beside Cassandra and Cameron,
throughout their shared life.
We place their hands
into the hands of the gentle, wise,
and good-hearted Shepherd.
We ask these things in Jesus’s name;
Amen
The kiss ..............................
Cameron and Cassandra,
in so much as the two of you have committed yourselves to
living life together in Holy Matrimony,
and have promised your loyalty and love to each other
by these vows and by the giving of these rings,
I now invite you to start this new life-dance of marriage with a kiss of love.
Presentation to the group ..............
Cassandra and Cameron,
please turn and face
those who stand with you
in pledging their support for your marriage.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends and Family,
To all you who have sown
love and life,
friendship and support,
counsel and coaching,
tenderness and tears,
laughter and goodness
into the lives of this precious couple,
It is my privilege to present to you
Cameron and Cassandra Bromley.
[Posted on The Christian ThinkTank (http://www.christian-thinktank.com) at www.christian-thinktank.com/camwed.html]