Form 1 from MCC
The Blessing of a Relationship.
Welcome and Greeting
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
We have come together in the presence of God to share the joy of Sharon and Rachel in their friendship, to thank him for his goodness, to confess our sins and to pray that their lives together may be a sign of his love in the world. Let us therefore confess our sins.
Most merciful God, we have sinned in thought, and word and deed: we are truly sorry and we ask you to forgive. Help us by your Spirit to live the new life in Christ, loving you with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves; for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
Almighty God forgive us our sins, and keep us in eternal life. Amen.
The Word of God
Minister: Let us pray. O gracious and ever- living God, you have created us in your image; look mercifully upon this couple who come to you seeking your blessing, and assist them with your grace, that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honour and keep the promises and vows they make; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
OR
Almighty God, Lord of all life and giver of all joy, Grant that Sharon and Rachel in simple trust, may commit themselves to your keeping and, by your grace, may live together in mutual love and faithfulness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Psalm 100 A song of praise and thanksgiving
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. St. Paul's great hymn of love.
A reading from the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, beginning at verse 4.
Rite of Blessing
You have come forward today to receive a special blessing of your companionship and to declare before God and those present here that it is your joint intentions to work together in God's sight to foster and develop a permanent and lasting relationship together. You are reminded that this is not a holy union or marriage, but rather a declaration of intent to nourish that love which has brought you together.
Therefore Sharon and Rachel do you now say before God and those assembled that you do intend to co-operate with one another, to be attentive and faithful to one another, to work together in love and understanding, and to keep God in your lives that God's love might strengthen you?
We do.
Here the couple may make a special statement of love to each other. Gifts may be exchanged.
Sharon: I love Rachel, and want to spend the rest of my life with her as my special friend and companion.
Rachel: I love Sharon, and want to spend the rest of my life with her as my special friend and companion.
The Blessing of the rings
Lord, bless these tokens of love that they may give Sharon and Rachel strength to keep the promises made here and ever remind them of your love and their love for each other. Amen.
Sharon: Rachel, as an outward sign of our love I give you this ring in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rachel: Sharon, as an outward sign of our love I give you this ring in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
OR
May my heart be your shelter, and my arms your home. May you feel deeply loved, for indeed you are. May you always see your wholeness in my eyes. With this ring, I give you my heart. I have no greater gift to give. May we feel this joy for as long as we live. I thank God. I thank you. Amen.
The Prayers
Minister: Eternal God, creator and preserver of all life, author of salvation, and giver of grace: Look with favour upon the world you have made, and for which your son Jesus gave his life, and especially upon these two women whom we bless in your Name.
People: Amen.
Minister: Give them wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a counsellor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy.
People: Amen.
Minister: Grant that their wills may be so knit together in your will, and their spirits in your Spirit, that they may grow in love and peace with you and one another all the days of their lives.
People: Amen.
Minister: Make their life together a sign of Christ's love to this sinful and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair.
People: Amen.
Minister: Give them such fulfillment of their mutual affection that they may reach out in love and concern for others.
People: Amen.
Minister: Grant that all persons who have witnessed these vows may find their lives strengthened and their loyalties confirmed.
People: Amen.
Minister: Grant that the bonds of our common humanity, by which all your children are united to one another, and the living to the dead, may be so transformed by your grace, that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven; where, O God, with your son and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign in perfect unity, now and forever.
People: Amen.
OR
Minister: Loving Spirit, grant to Sharon and Rachel, that in loving and forgiving, they may receive from each other lasting joy.
People: Bind them together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind them together in love.
Minister: Grant that they may always take delight in each other, and each remain the other's heart's desire.
People: Bind them together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind them together in love.
Minister: May they reach such trust and confidence in each other as shall keep them from unnecessary distress. May they find courage to meet the heartaches, disappointments and agonies life can bring.
People: Be their rock, their fortress, for they put their trust in you.
Minister: Help them look beyond their own family and their own concerns to see the world, suffering and struggling, the world you have given us to share with each other.
People: Open their eyes and their hearts.
Minister: Give them grace to accept that they are mortal, to face the possibility of death and the separation it must bring.
People: Jesus, you are resurrection, you are life.
Minister and People: God of peace, your love is generous, and reaches out to hold us all in your embrace. Fill our hearts with tenderness for those to whom we are linked today. Give us sympathy with each others trials; give us patience with each others faults; hat we may grow in the likeness of Jesus and share in the joy of your kingdom. Amen.
Minister:
Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life. By the power of your Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon these women. Defend them from every enemy. Lead them into peace. Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle above their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads. Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death. Finally in your mercy, bring them to the table where your saints feast for ever in your heavenly home; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
People: Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art 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. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Blessing
May you find peace and comfort, strength and happiness together all your days and may Almighty God, Creator, Son and Holy Spirit bless you both and surround you with the light of his love; that you may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting. Amen.
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