Order 2 from New Westminster Canada
Order of Service
Processional Music
The Gathering of Family and Friends
The people stand. The couple stand before the presider.
Presider The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
People And also with you.
Presider Beloved People of God, we have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the covenant of love and fidelity which John and James have made with each other.
The union of two persons in heart, body and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and that their love may be a blessing to all whom they encounter. This solemn covenant is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, deliberately and with the commitment to seek God’s will in their lives.
The Proclamation of the Word
1 John 4; verses 7-12
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is perfected in us.
Reader Hear what the spirit is saying to the Church
People Thanks be to God
Psalm 67 (read in alternate half verses)
Let God be gracious to us and bless us: and make his face shine upon us,
that your ways may be known on earth: your liberating power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you O God: let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing:
for you judge the peoples with integrity and govern the nations upon the earth.
Let the peoples praise you O God: let all the peoples praise you.
Then the earth will yield its fruitfulness: and God our God will bless us.
God shall bless us: and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
All stand for the gospel
Reader May God be with you.
People And also with you.
Reader The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John.
People Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
At the conclusion of the gospel, the reader says,
This is the Gospel of Christ
People Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
A reflection will follow.
Intent
Presider John and James, what do you seek?
Couple We come before God, both of you and our family and friends, believing that we belong to each other and together we belong to God. We ask for God’s blessing and the blessing of the church on our life together.
The presider then asks each partner in turn.
Presider John, will you share your love and life with James, your wholeness and your brokenness, your joys and your sorrows, your health and your sickness, your riches and your poverty, your success and your failure, and be faithful to him so long as you both shall live?
Answer I will.
Presider James will you share your love and life with John, your wholeness and your brokenness, your joys and your sorrows, your health and your sickness, your riches and your poverty, your success and your failure, and be faithful to him so long as you both shall live?
Answer I will.
John and James have been duly prepared to enter into this relationship. They have stated their intent, they will exchange solemn vows, and in token of this they will each exchange symbols of their vows.
We pray with them that by God’s help they may fulfil God’s purpose for the whole of their earthly life together.
Support and Blessing of Family and Friends
Presider Will you, the family and friends of James and John, promise to honour and uphold them in their life together; to recognise them as a household; to guide and pray for them in times of trouble; to celebrate with them in times of joy; to respect the bounds of their covenant; and to seek to discern the continuing presence of Christ in their lives?
People We will, with God’s help.
Presider Do you give them your blessing?
People We do.
Let us pray,
O God, our Creator, lover of heaven and earth, you have taught us to love each other as Christ loved us, to bear each other’s burdens, and to share each other’s strengths. Look with favour upon John and James, whom you have brought together in love. Grant them sincere love and unfailing strength. Protect them in their life and in their work, and lead them with us and all creation into your realm of justice and peace. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People Amen.
Vows
The presider invites the couple to stand and face each other. Taking each other’s hands, each says to the other in turn;
James, I give myself to you. I love you, I trust you, I delight in you.
I will bear your burdens, I will share your joys and I will go with you wherever God calls us.
This is my solemn vow.
John, I give myself to you. I love you, I trust you, I delight in you.
I will bear your burdens, I will share your joys and I will go with you wherever God calls us.
This is my solemn vow.
The presider addresses the couple together
Presider John and James, do you believe God has called you to live together in love?
Couple We do believe.
Presider Will you continue to be faithful to each other?
Couple We will, with God’s help.
Presider Will you, under God, recognise each other’s freedom to grow as individuals and allow each other time and space so to do?
Couple We will, with God’s help.
Presider Will you do all in your power to make your life together a witness to the love of God on the world?
Couple We will, with God’s help.
The Blessing of Gifts.
The presider receives the gifts and says these words
Presider Dear friends in Christ, let us ask God to bless these gifts, that they may be symbols of the vow and covenant John and James have made this day.
The presider then says
Blessed are you, God of steadfast love, source of our joy and end of our hope. Bless these gifts given and received through Jesus Christ our Lord.
People Amen.
The Prayers of the People
The Christ candle in the centre is lit from the beginning of the service. The Christ candle is the source of the flame, as each of the four candles surrounding the Christ candle is lit.
Presider: James and John, we welcome you as partners in life. Pray and we will pray with you. May God enrich your lives and fulfil your hopes and dreams.
God of love, creator of us all, we thank you for all the ways in which your love comes into our lives, and for all the joys that come to us all through that love.
Today we especially pray for John and James. With them we give thanks for the love and care of their family and friends which have guided them to maturity and prepared them for this commitment.
1st friend (add name)
Give John and James strength and courage to keep the vows they have made, to be loyal and faithful to each other.
We give them this day our love and share our dreams and hopes for them.
We light this candle as a symbol of our love and our hope for them.
Light candle from the Christ candle
2nd friend (add name)
May James and John support each other throughout their lives, may they bear each other’s burdens and share each other’s joys.
We give them this day our love and share our dreams and hopes for them.
We light this candle as a symbol of our love and our hope for them.
Light candle from the Christ candle
3rd friend (add name)
Help John and James to be honest and patient with each other, to welcome friend and stranger into their home.
We give them this day our love and share our dreams and hopes for them.
We light this candle as a symbol of our love and our hope for them.<o:p>
Light candle from the Christ candle
John and James
God of tenderness and strength, you have brought our paths together and led us to this day.
We light this candle from the others claiming all your hopes, dreams and prayers for us.
John and James light fourth candle, drawing from the Christ candle and the others.
Go with us now as we travel through good times, through trouble or through change.
Bless our home, our partings and our meetings. Make us worthy of each other’s best, and tender with each other’s dreams, trusting in your love. Amen.
The Blessing of the Union
The people remain standing. The couple kneels before the presider who says the following prayers.
Presider 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 your abundant blessing upon James and John. Defend them from every enemy. Lead them in all peace. Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle upon their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads. Bless them in their work and 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 that table where your saints feast forever in your banquet; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns one God, now and forever.
People Amen.
Presider God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve and keep you; may God mercifully look with favour upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting.
People Amen.
The Peace
Presider Dear friends in Christ. The peace of God be with you.
People And also with you.
James and John will greet each other and will share the sign of peace with their friends and family.
Final Prayers
Presider: As our Saviour Christ has 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 this day 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.
DISMISSAL
Presider: God the Holy Trinity make you strong in faith and love, defend you, and guide you in truth and peace:
And the blessing of God Almighty,the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always. Amen.
A Minister says:
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Recessional Music
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“Don’t walk ahead of me, I may not follow; don’t walk behind me, I may not lead; just walk beside me and be my friend.” (Albert Camus).
If Holy Communion is to be included it follows the Peace
The Preparation of the Gifts.
It is appropriate that the couple prepare bread and wine for the Eucharist and that they present the elements.
Let us pray.
God of the covenant, hear our prayer, and accept all we offer you this day. May the mystery of Christ's unselfish love, which we celebrate in this eucharist, increase our love for you and for each other, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Let us pray.
Gracious God, may Michael and Andrew, who are joined together in these holy mysteries, become one in heart and soul. May they live in fidelity and peace and obtain those eternal joys prepared for all who love you; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
