Today you stand by us
as we exchange our vows
that will join us for eternity.
Thank you
for being a part of our day,
our friendship,
our lives.
July 13, 1996
All of us have ben invited here for a holy purpose; not just to witness but to participate fully with our thoughts, asking for blessings upon this couple and their married life.
You are here because this couple feels close to you and asks that you join with them in this dedication of sacred purpose. You represent symbolically all the people in the world who will be touched in any way by the life of this couple. Together we thank the Spirit for bringing them together and ask that they always be guided.
And with this journey, Tresa and Jim each bring their own individual qualities to form into a unique new synergy.
The essence of synergy is to value differences - to respect them, to build on strength, to compensate for weakness. Synergy is everywhere in nature. If you sow two plants close together the roots commingle and improve the quality of the soil so that both plants will grow better than if they were separated. If you bond two pieces of wood together they will hold much more than the total of the weight held by each separately. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. One plus one equals thre ... or more.
This day we celebrate a sacred agreement between the two of you.
I congratulate you on the journey of your lives, on the strength and the courage it has taken for each of you to make your way to this place.
Tresa, Jim is the Spirit's gift to you, but he is not a gift for you alone. It is your highest will that in your love, this man might find within himself a greater sense of who he is meant to be. You are asked to see the good in this man, to accept him for who he is and who he shall be, that thus he might e healed and made strong. In this way, your own highest purpose shall be accomplished in this relationship. May this man find the kingdom of heaven through the love you share.
And so it is with you also, Jim, that although Tresa is the Spirit's gift to you, she is not a gift intended for you alone. You are asked to so love this woman, that in your love she might find herself as she is created, so beautiful and strong and brave and true, that the entire world might be blessed by the presence of a woman who shines so. May she relax in your arms as she has never relaxed before. May she know, from now on, that there is one on whose love she can depend forever.
Jim: We are soulmates. A love this strong cannot be bound by the limitations of our physical bodies and will endure even separation by death.
Tresa: I pledge my love until death do us part and for all eternity because I believe that you and I will be together always.
Jim: I make this vow gladly, confident that our love is strong enough to bind us together even if we should be separated physically.
Tresa: I pledge my love for you throughout this lifetime and for all the unknown, unseen lifetimes to come. Wherever or whomever we may be in the future, I will love you.
Jim: We have been together before - we are together now - we will be together always.
Jim, from this point forward, Tresa's needs will carry the same priority as your own. Likewise, Tresa, Jim's needs will be seen to be as important as your own. You shall not be as two conflicting or competing forces, but rather the synergy of your lives shall blend into harmony and oneness.
To the families of Jim and Tresa, congratulations on the part you have played in their lives. I remind you that it is more than their blood that is joined here, it is yours as well.
With this in mind, I ask you, Tresa's family: will you take this man, Jim, into your family and into your hearts? (Please respond "Yes")
And I ask you, Jim's family: will you take this woman, Tresa, into your family and into your hearts? (Please respond "Yes") May the miracle of this marriage extend throughout your families forever.
Now we will have the blessing of the rings:
May these rings be blessed s the symbol of this affectionate unity. These two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever you go, you will always return to one another in your togetherness.
The two of you have found in each other the love for which all men and women yearn. You promise to grow in patience, understanding and in compassion. The home which you establish together will be such a place of sanctuary that many will find there a comfortable friend.
These rings, on your fingers, symbolize the touch of the Spirit of Love in your hearts.
Jim: Tresa, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. As it encircles your finger, may it remind you always that you are surrounded by my enduring love.
Tresa: I will wear it gladly. Whenever I look at it, I will remember this joyous day and the vows we've made. Jim, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. As it encircles your finger, may it remind you always that you are surrounded by my enduring love.
Jim: This ring is an emblem of my love. It signifies that our souls are joined in life-long ties.
Tresa: This ring is beautiful - shining and pure. I will strive to keep our marriage beautiful, too.
Jim: This ring is hard - sturdy and strong. I will strive to keep our marriage strong, too.
In as much as Jim and Tresa have consented together in marriage before their family and friends, have pledged their faith and declared their unity by each giving and receiving a ring and are now joined in mutual esteem and devotion; I, as ordained Minister of the Church of the Earth Nation, but mot of all by the power of their love for each other, pronounce that they are husband and wife together forever.
Let us join hands together and offer them the
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now your are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place to enter into
the days of your life together.
And may your days be good,
and long upon this earth.
(...traditional Pennsylvania Dutch "honey" kiss)
May the spirits watch over you as long as
the grass grows and the rivers flow.
