WEDDING SERVICE

MUSIC

1. Grace & Peace are given in the name of God, our Father, Jesus-Christ, our Lord.

2. This day of Joy is the act of our Lord. Let’s all join in happiness. ( Ps. 118:24)

3. We shall pray to our Lord as he is kind and his love knows no bounds

1. I welcome you, brothers & sisters in this church where we are all gathered in joy & prayer to be with X & Y who are promising to each others, and have asked our Lord for his blessing.

The church is cheering with those in joy. At this special & important time of your life, it is surrounding you with its friendship. With you, it is expressing to God its recognition.

2. X & Y have decided today to express openly their love and will to marry. They have chosen this church for the announcement. The assembly is sharing your joy, and hope that you will always feel home in this church.

3. (in case of Ecumenical celebration)

X & Y are welcomed into this house of prayer where they have come to ask the Lord to bless their union. Y it is in another house that you learnt about Jesus-Christ, our Lord. We are happy to welcome you & your family. Our churches are still separated, but we believe together that there is "only one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism ". This is why your union will grow in the communion with Jesus-Christ, and will show the way to unity.

4. Grave & Peace are given in the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. X & Y , the church, and every person around you are happy to celebrate your faith & love. We acknowledge the Big Sharing beginning with you, and ask for the blessing of your union.

5. We gather in the recognition and the devout meditation with X & Y who love each other and have committed to each other. This is an important choice that they have chosen to put under the blessing of God. X & Y, the Church who guided you in the preparation for the wedding, assure you of their fondness & support in prayers. We are sharing your happiness and welcome you in joy along with your parents, family & friends ( and chosen Priest). In fact, you have chosen to live this moment in communion with the Catholic Church to whom X/Y & family belong. Together we are praising the Lord:

1. God, our Father be with us. Welcome us in your presence, as we are looking for you. Our Lord you are our strength & hope, our past, present & future. We are relying on you.

Here is X & Y , you gave them the love that bounds them, the happiness to be the couple through which they will carry on your creation. You are the witness and the support of their union. You spoke to them & gave them the word of the Lord. You are today with them as you will be with them and with each of us every day. We are praising you. Amen

2. God, our father, we are now in your presence. Help us to be silent & to direct our thoughts to you. Two of our children, X & Y are in love. They are marrying to share joy & hardship of life, to share together the responsibilities and create happiness for each other. We are praising you: Your love is showing the way where you guide them.

It is through you that all blessings comes. Prepare our hearts to receive the blessing through the word of Jesus-Christ, our Lord. Amen.

3. Who are we, Lord, for you to turn your face to us ? How to express our recognition for all you are, and all you do for us?

To meet you makes us know the happiness of our meetings. We are praising you to let us see the reflection of your glory through the love of X & Y.

Confirm their engagements which they are about to declare, reinforce them through the word of the Lord. May they look for each other through you. may they find each other through you. May they wish for each other the freedom that you give to every one of us. Amen.

4. Lord, our God, we gather to thank you. You are handling our life, you are the only master of the past, present and future, you gave X & Y the love they have for each other. You want to bless their union. This is the reason why we are gathering today. You are the witness of their union , you spoke to them through the World of the Lord. You are today with them as you will be with them every day until the last. May it be toward you first that our grateful hearts soar. We are praising you Lord.

5. Thank you Lord for this day. Thank you for sharing the Word of the lord with us.

Thank you for every day which comes, for every true word spoken, for the freedom given. Thank you for allowing us to hand you our future with all its questions, its hopes, its worries. In the prayer and the silence, to be able to communicate our obstinacy, our defeats, & our unforeseen.

With you we are happy to know that we have heard and understood. In your love, we are ready to renew our love every day. Amen.

6. Our lord, we thank you because we are gathering in your presence. We are praying for your love revealed to the entire world through Jesus-Christ. As you are with us today and every day in our life, you want to be with X & Y, witnessing their union. You are giving them the happiness to be a couple through them they will carry your creation.

Happy are men & women who believe in you !

HYMN / PSALM / MUSIC

[ X & Y wish to speak. They have chosen with their sensibility, texts through which they will express their life plans & invite you to listen]

1.X & Y you have decided to live as a couple in society. Married in front of the Town Hall, you wanted to announce it in the church, to ask our Lord to bless your union, & to say that the couple that you are , wants to strengthen day after day in the presence of the Lord & on the Bible. Here you declare your will to live together in the nation that God guides.

Asked about Marriage, Jesus said : " Did not you read that the creator, at the beginning, made them men & women? This is why each will have to leave his father & mother to commit to his partner. The two will be one flesh, therefore they will no longer be two but one. Man shall not divide what god has joined."

To marry in a Christian church is to declare a common objective, it is a testimony of the will to live together the words of the Prophetes and to answer the vocation that God offers to us. This ideal of living is summarised by Jesus-Christ himself in those two commandments: You shall love our Lord with all your heart, all your thoughts, all your strengths and all your soul. You shall learn to love together the people, God will put on your way, and from now on each of you is even closer to your fellow human beings.

2. In the Bible, the book of the Geneses says: " God created the human beings in his own image: He created men & women and blessed them. "

God wanted men & women to know true happiness on earth: union of their bodies, their intelligence, their sensibilities, wanting to share the same life.

The Prophets of Israel have seen in the matrimonial relation the image of the union in between God and its nation. The Prophet Paul compare the love of a husband for his wife to the love of Jesus-Christ for the Church.

God calls X & Y to grow each day in the strength of their love and to live in truth and fidelity.

[By leaving your father & mother], they have committed to each other to begin a new story, the story of their home. they are walking along with the nation that God built. With them we are praying.

3. X & Y , You showed at the Town Hall your will to live as a couple in society. Here you are announcing your will to live together with the people of God.

Asked about Marriage, Jesus said : " Did not you read that the creator, at the beginning, made them men & women? This is why each will have to leave his father & mother to commit to his partner. The two will be one flesh. therefore they will no longer be two but one. Man shall not divide what god has joined."

God wanted men & women to know true happiness on earth: union of their bodies, their intelligence, their sensibilities, wanting to share the same life. The marital relation is so strong that the prophet of Israel saw the image of the union in between god and its nation. The Prophet Paul compare the love of a husband for his wife to the love of Jesus-Christ for the Church. He loved it so much that he gave his own life for it. Our Lord guide us. With him, forgiveness is always possible, joy is always promised, love always resuscitating.

X & Y are taking the opportunity of their wedding to celebrate the announcement of the Word of the Lord and commitment to God as a couple. You are asking for a blessing & the intercession of the assembly here together. It has to be reminded that it is not the church that marries you, this celebration is a demonstration of your faith, we are inviting you to live under the sign of God fidelity.

In the Bible that we will be giving later, we are reading the texts on which we will concentrate today.

SILENCE / MUSIC / HYMN

SILENCE / MUSIC / HYMN

X & Y stand up to declare their union now in front of God and the church. He also invites the best man best bridesmaid to come closer, and the assembly to stand up to show that they are witnessing the commitment.

1. X, you have taken Y as your wife. Will you promise to love her, to respect her, to encourage her, to live with her in truth, and through the good and bad days, to stay faithful to him for all your life ?

- Yes (with the help of God)

Y, you have taken X as your husband. Will you promise to love him, to respect him, to encourage him, to live with him in truth, and through the good and bad days, to stay faithful to him for all your life?

- Yes (with the help of God)

So responsible for each other, Are you willing to receive the responsibilities of parenthood that might be given to you. Will you promise to raise the children that might be given to you, in the Christian faith ?

- Yes we will

2. X you have taken Y as your wife . Do you promise to love her, to respect her, to live within the truth, and through the good and bad days, to stay faithful to him for all your life? Do you your children will learn to know about Jesus- Christ ?

- Yes (with the help of God)

Y you have taken X as your husband . Do you promise to love him, to respect him, to live within the truth, and through the good and bad days, to stay faithful to him for all your life? Do you your children will learn to know about Jesus- Christ ?

- Yes (with the help of God)

3. The wife & then the husband: X / Y, I chose to take you as my wife. I promise to love you, to respect you, to encourage you, to live within the truth, and through the good and bad days, to stay faithful to him for all your life. I promise to teach my children to know about Jesus-Christ.

4. . The wife & then the husband: X / Y, I declare today openly that I love you, I welcome you as my wife, I want to share your joy, your worries & your hardships. I want to live with you in the faith, the hope and love of Jesus-Christ who triumphes over death. I promise to love you, to respect you and to help you to flourish, to walk in faithfulness toward our unity, to welcome children with thankfulness, to teach them to know Jesus-Christ.

1. You are no longer two but one. "Man shall not divide what god has joined."

2. God is the witness of your promises. He will give you the strength & joy to fulfill them.

1. Wear from now on, those wedding bands, sign of your love and will to remain faithful.

2. Exchange now your wedding bands. They are the visible sign of your commitment to each other. May your union be as faithful as God’s one.

3. May these wedding bands be the sign & the living memory of your promises. May you read the sign of your union challenging the passing time. Make them the sign of your own questioning, & questioning of your love.

X & Y receive now the blessing of God on their union.

1. The Lord blesses you today, for you to live together in his love for all the days of your life.

2. May the Lord give you the ability to serve him together, you are blessed in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit.

3. May the lord bless you and keep you. May his light be shinning on you, may he give you his love. May the lord turn his face to you and give you Peace.

4. God bless you on the road where you are walking together. May he light it day after day by his presence & love. May he give you the happiness promised to those who place their trust in him. May the joy of the Lord be your strength.

1. Following the tradition of the reform church, we are giving you a Bible. May its reading fortify you & enlighten you day after day. In the church we are gathering to open this book, discover its beauty, its richness, & identify the living Word of the Lord. We would be happy if you would join us.

2. I am giving you this Bible, to testify that there will always be in your home room for the world of God, and to remind you that whatever happens, you will never be alone, but that God will always be with you.

MUSIC / HYMN

1. We are praying for X & Y, Allow them to live in the novelty of their love. Give them peace, joy and harmony. May each of them rely on the other, and therefore build a solid & welcoming home. Give them, if they have children, the happiness to raise them in the light of the Christ. Give them your spirit, to find in your World, a sense, a strength and a joy for their life.

2. Father, we are handing you X & Y:

Allow them to always live in the novelty of the love that unite them today. May they know in all circumstances Peace, Joy and Harmony.

May they rely on each other and build a solid & welcoming home.

[Give them, if they do have children, the desire to make them discover the Word of God and to raise them in the light of the Christ]

[In the difference of their religion, may their union be the sign of the future unity of your church ]

3. We are praying for X & Y , Bless their home. May their house be peaceful, joyful, open to all, poor, stranger, those who are suffering...

Support them in their work for them to be full of unity and understanding.

4. Lord, our God & our Father, you gave to X & Y the love they have for each other.They decided to unify their lives. We are thanking you for joy that you give them today, may you keep it ever lasting. May the love you have for them, renew their love for each others.

5. X & Y have united their lives and want now to build a home. Give them the strength to help each other every day and to overcome together their difficulties & worries. Bless them, Protect them, and strengthen their love of husband & wife, support their faithfulness, make them happy, and make them discover through the Christ the joy to give themselves to each other.

6. Lord, we are thanking you for the presence of this new couple among us. Allow them to always live in the novelty of the love. May their home be peaceful and welcoming. Give them , if they do have children, the happiness to raise them in your light. May that new couple find in our community an extended family, for your praising, and the service of our brothers.

7. We are praying for X & Y. We are asking you to make them a sign of the unity of your church. In their search, may they be brave & modest, lover of the truth, and guided by your love.

8. We are praying for our churches. May they see in that wedding a sign of hope. May they be more open, more brotherly, willing of unity that you wish for them. May they come to you in the truth & love.

10. Lord, look at X & Y , they are in front of your grace full of the assurance of their marriage.

They are in love and are giving you that love. Help them to love each other even more. Encourage their hope, increase their generosity. Strengthen their commitment, liven their freedom.

They chose each other, but they know that they are not the strongest. You only, can support their will, and increase their commitment. Let their life live their dream with the energy of the renewed novelty of the beginning.

May joy spread on daily routine, their cleverness triumph over the tiredness of the day. They are offering themselves with anger: Teach them constancy. Make of their feelings this light and deep force which prepares the tomorrow in every day, but remain surprise at each moment for its uniqueness. May they walk along, going from hesitation to hesitation, offering on even better offering. May they remain for each other, sweetness, help, forgiveness, simplicity of words. Do not let their tenderness faint, but keep it firm, shiny as the raising of a day.

Increase their intimacy. Let it be full of mystery & confidence. May they have enough love to give the earth where abandon & disrespect are wildly spread. Keep their joy from putting on a face of loneliness as misfortune does.. May their joy be everywhere, for all and every one of us, a source, an open table, a frank gesture to brotherhood.

1. We are praying for the olderly. their tenderness is all around us. we read on their faces faithfulness & strength of their love. for their presence, we are praising you Lord.

2. lord, we are in joy, but we would like to offer you those who are in pain. remember those who were never loved, those who lost a beloved person, those who are shut down by illness, those who know only loneliness. May tenderness surround them, precede them & follow them. may they be free from their sadness.

3. We are praying for the broken couples, for those who fear failure, for those who are mentally anguished, for those who have forgotten how to start all over again. We are praying for the heart broken children.

4. Our Lord, you wanted that through couples, life grows & shins on earth. We are offering you our world & its suffering. Have mercy on those humiliated & offended & for those who are fighting, who are hungry, who have died. Promise that X & Y be of those who help & console with acts of Peace.

5. End up our obsessions, our cowardice, our defeats. May our walk be new. Give us your strength in order to seek for to love rather than be loved, to understand rather than be understood, to forgive rather than be forgotten. May our love shine and be an instrument of your peace & joy.

6. In this day of Joy, we would like to intercede for all couples. For those who live their marital life in joy & serenity, and for those who have deep difficulties. May you give those who live in monotony the will to find new sense to their common life.

7. We are offering you all couples who are not sharing our joy, because they are in difficulty, affected by illness, worries, needs, wondering about their future: Give them the assurance of your help. Grant them by meeting those who can help.

9. We are praying for those who did not set up a home. Give them to escape from loneliness & live with you a life full of meaning & joy.

10. We are thanking you for the older couples who went through life, keeping & developing their love for each other. They are the living sign of your kingdom. May you give to those who death divided, to find hope & peace in you their strength.

11. We are praying for the families on whom the threat or painful reality of hunger, war & violence. Teach us to share and fight with them for Peace & Justice.

12. We are praying, Lord for those forgotten, that no-one will ever love, that will never love anyone, that will have on love a foreign vision, and will stay indifferent to love.

We are praying Lord, for those who love without being loved, for those who know the pain of loneliness, suffering & abandon.

Lord, we are praying: Give them to be loved, to meet love, Give to their life the energy to come to you.

13. You wanted life to grow & shine on earth. we are offering our world & its suffering. Be with the women and men offended or humiliated, those who are fighting and are destroying themselves, those who are hungry for bread and thirsty for tenderness. May X & Y be of those helping, comforting & be an instrument of Peace.

Remember all of those who chose to have their union blessed by you: keep & renew them the flame of your love.

We are praying for the homes having difficulties dealing with every day life, and the erosion of time passing by. Remind them that with you, forgiveness is always possible, joy always promised, love always resuscitating.

1. We would like to address you in prayer that unifies all Christians, just as brothers recognising in God the Father.

2. For all their life, we are handing over X & Y, by saying with them:...

3. And unified in the same spirit, we can say with confidence the prayer leaned from our Lord:...

We stand up

Our Father, Who arth in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven,

Give us this day, our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil,

AMEN.

Today we are in joy & celebration, we shall not forget those who are in need. It is not enough to simply pray for them. Here is a time for offering, which will allow you to share a part of your wealth in order to release a bit of suffering. The offering will go to the social service of the church, and will be given to those having less that the church can help.

May this offering be a sign of your joy & communion.

While the organ plays, we will now proceed to the signature of the register. I invite the bride & groom, along with the best man, best bridesmaid and their parents to come along.

FINAL HYMN

1. Be happy in the hope, patient in distress, persistent in prayer. (Rom 12:12)

2. As you are elected, hallowed, loved by God, Carry feelings of compassion, indulgence, kindness & patience. Be helpful to each other, and if grief arises, be forgiveness, as the Lord forgives you, do the same too. And among all, carry love, this is the perfect link. You have all been called as one body to Christ’s peace. Live in gratitude. (Col 3:16-17)

3. May the word of Christ inhabit you in all its richness. Learn & teach to each other the wisdom, sing to God with your hearts, your gratitude, with psalm, hymns, & songs inspired by the Holy Spirit. Everything that you might do or say, do it in the name of our Lord, Jesus-Christ, by giving grace to him and to God our Father.

May the assembly stand up to receive the blessing in the name of God

1. May the Grace of our Lord Jesus-Christ, the love of God our father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always. Amen.

2. May the Grace of our Lord Jesus-Christ, the love of God our father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be & remain with us and our family. Go in the joy of our lord.

3. Now X & Y, all of us, go with your life, with the Grace of our Lord Jesus-Christ, the love of God our father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all and each of us. Amen.

4. May the God of Hope fulfill all with joy, for us to spread hope by the power of the holy Spirit.

WAY OUT & MUSIC