THE CEREMONY
Joshua and Echota - May 30, 1999
PROCESSION
INTRODUCTION
Mesdames et Messieurs, we are gathered here today in the presence of His Majesty King Francois, Her Majesty Queen Eleanor, the Royal Court, our beloved family and dear friends, and the perfect universe to unite these two people; Lord Joshua and Lady Echota in sacred matrimony and to celebrate their path together from this day forth. We thank you all for being here and celebrate the joy of your presence here today. Before we continue, is there anyone here who can show just cause why these two people should not be joined in loving matrimony? If so, present yourself now. If not, keep your peace now and forever more.
DIRECTIVE
The Marriage or 'coming together' of two people is a commitment not to be taken lightly. A commitment requires standing for and in your word regardless of circumstances or external pressures--often without agreement and in the face of adversity. In marriage, 2 people declare their commitment to each other for the rest of their lives. They bring with them their own beliefs, likes and dislikes, plans, dreams, knowledge, sense of others and of themselves. The challenge to one's commitment is tremendous especially when multiplied by two. Therefore, this adventure must begin with only the utmost of honesty existing between these two and among you who witness this event. Be it known to you all that the responsibility for the integrity with which Echota and Joshua make this covenant finally rests upon their own hearts and the member s of this community, both friends and relatives, who haw ministered to them in the times of preparation for this service. So to honor the bride and groom, talk not in deference to one of the other but support them with your love and compassion and stand for their greatness. If you desire this new estate to be permanent, then cherish the vision of this love. Let it not be tarnished by the common events. Believe in this ideal you both share. It is binding; it is inviolate; and, in all human relations, it is the final truth. In genuine love two persons look out together in the same direction and direct their lives together toward common ideals and goals. We look upon the ceremony not as a spectacle, but as a worship celebration. It is the highest we know in love- the pledging of the deepest love and fidelity each to the other, and the expression of their highest aspirations. It is sacred for the 2 persons being united in marriage, a re-enactment for others, and for all of us a mutual sharing and responsibility in this holy marriage.
CONSECRATION OF SPACE
As water is recognized the world over as the source of life, we consecrate this ground and ceremony wit it. I pour the giver of life- pure water- into the soil to awaken all spirits of the living dead who have p rovided foundation for us to survive and flourish in the world. We give homage to the universe for being the source and aim of all life, all that lives and that ever lived. We thank the universe for giving us life and giving us our ancestors. We pour the libations for our ancestral spirits. Those who through their egg and seed united and brought forth our original life. Though we don't remember them by name, we remember their deed, for without their deed there is no fruition of our living on earth today. We pay homage to the living-dead ancestors whose names we remember, and who we know gave us the opportunity for life, who took leadership roles in uniting us, whose shoulders we stand on and whose wisdom helps shine a guiding light on our past, present, and future. This celebration is enriched by your presence. We thank you for your generosity.
GIVING OF THE BRIDE Who gives this woman to be joined in matrimony? Thank you. We invite all of you to renew your marriage vows as Joshua and Echota take theirs today. Marriage is a commitment to help each other grow into the person we believe the Universe intended for each of us.
PRELIMINARY VOWS
Minister : Do you pledge to fulfill and treasure each other's manhood or womanhood, joining your minds and bodies in courage when weak, comfort when sad, and joy when fulfilled?
J&E : WE DO.
M: Will you strive to create a home that will not only be a haven for you and your children, but a blessing and benefit to the neighborhood in which you live?
J&E : WE WILL.
M: Do you accept the responsibilities of parenthood and citizenship and endeavor to live, and train your children to live, as citizens of one world in the family of all mankind?
J&E: WE DO.
RESPONSIVE CREDO
Minister: Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things.
Congregation : It is never being too old to hold hands.
M : It is remembering to say, 'I love you'
C : It is never going to sleep angry.
M: It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship shouldn\rquote t end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.
C: It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives; it is standing together facing the world.
M: It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
C: It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
M: It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
C: It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have the wings of an angel. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
M: It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
C: It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. \par M: It is finding room for things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
C: It is establishing a relationship in which \ldblquote the independence is equal, the dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
M: It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
CONGREGATIONAL INTENTION
M: Josh and Echota have invited us to share in the celebration of one of life\rquote s most sacred relationships, wherein they covenant to guard the welfare of the other more carefully than their own; they affirm their love before the altar of the universe; they pledge their faith to one another and they enter into the joys and p rivileges of marriage.
C: As they give themselves to each other in love, we intend that their hopes may be realized. \par M: For many of us this is a time of sacred memory as we recall the occasion when we ourselves promised to love, honor, and cherish. Silently may we once more renew that covenant.
C: We rejoice in the grace of forgiveness, the gift of sensitivity and the blessing of understanding. We are glad for the natural capacity to seek another's welfare above our own; to enter into a union of body, mind and spirit; and to be united in purpose, will and motive.
M: Love is patient and kind, love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things.
C: Marriage is a blending of joy and sorrow, of hopes fulfilled and disappointments borne, of sustaining and being sustained. True marriage is built on love which fulfills another's needs, which adjusts continuingly, which gives instead of demands and which forgives willingly.
M: As we wish for so much and so greatly rejoice in the privilege of this moment, let us join together.
ALL: Oh Great Master, who brings us together in the relationship of love, we intend that Echota and Josh will share the joys, the ecstasy, the abiding peace and rich rewards of marriage. May their love and understanding grow with the years. May they seek each other's happiness, recognize each other\rquote s needs and hopes, and each help the other to become a person more pleasing to thee. We come together for them and for the realization of the hopes of all who love. Hetch etu welo, Oho!
VOWS TO EACH OTHER
At this time, Joshua and Echota will exchange their professions of love and commitment to each other:
Echota:
My dearest Joshua, I have to tell
you that to date this is the greatest day of my life. I am
marrying my best friend, the man beyond my wildest dreams. If I
were to say I had a soulmate, I would have to say that person is
you. I can only begin to express how much you mean to me, how
much I love you, and as your wife, perhaps by the end of our
lives I will have been able to show you and to tell you how much
you mean to me - how much of a difference you've made in my life.
You GAVE me unconditional love, and in turn, taught me what it
meant. You are a support for me, you give me ultimate freedom to
be who I am, to make my own mistakes and my own choices, to live
and grow and learn as myself. You challenge me, you are my muse,
my inspiration. Your presence in my life has given me a window to
a whole world I never knew existed, and together, we have, and
will, explore that world.
I KNOW what it means to be loved, to have someone care for you so
much they would do anything for you, to think of you as they
daydream, to want to be in your presence for the rest of their
lives. How amazing is that - to be the person someone is so
enraptured with that they are willing to tolerate ALL of your
idiosyncrasies for the rest of their days! That is a feeling I
would call a miracle - and I would gladly recommend to anyone,
for it is a feeling of wholeness, of completeness.
I know that we have truly CHOSEN each other, and that is what
gets me out of bed in the morning. And today, today is my
opportunity to share that with everyone, to let everyone in on
what an amazing human being you are, to commit to you with
everyone listening, to proclaim our love and our intent to all of
the world and the powers that be. This day, this day I will
always remember, and not because of the dress or the ceremony or
the party, but because I got to say, in front of all who are near
and dear to both of us, I love you, Joshua Keller, and I choose
you for the rest of my life.
Joshua, this is my commitment to you, to us:
To honor your contribution to my life, newly each day, this I
commit to you.
To love you always, to grow with you, to communicate, even when I
don't want to, this I commit to you.
To listen to you, to hear what YOU are saying, with respect and
love, this I commit to you.
To share myself with you, my hopes, dreams, fears, everything I
am, this I commit to you.
To accept who you are, to support your choices, to allow you the
freedom to be, this I commit to you.
To forgive you, to allow your forgiveness, to let go of
obstacles, this I commit to you.
To be your lover, your friend, your confidant, your wife, for the
rest of our lives, this I commit to you.
To create our future together, to leave past things past, to
always move forward, this I commit to you.
To marry you today, of my choice, with joy and excitement and a
heart full of love, this I commit to you.
FLOWERS TO MOTHERS
TASTING OF THE SPICES
ASKING OF THE GIFTS
O Great Mystery, for the chapters that have gone before this high moment, we thank you- for the homes and friends and traditions and schools that have fashioned their lives and shaped their ideals, for the chapters that are ahead for them, we earnestly ask for these gifts: --A steadily deepening love, which grows in understanding and unselfishness; --A measure of patience, especially in the early years when life must fall in step with life; --The ability to communicate, that they may be saved from hurtful words spoken in anger or grudges nurtured in silence, that they may each listen as well as be heard; --A sense of humor, that they may laugh at themselves and with others; --A happy home, where they may find a give serenity and strength; --A sense of values, that they may care for people more than possessions, for honor more than honors, for the dimensions of a home more than the details of a house, for the your approval more than the world's approval; --A growing spirituality that finds sufficient love and grace in every joy and sorrow and responds in lives of steadiness and service We ask thy blessing upon them. In health and sickness, in abundance and want, in life and death, abide with them and they with Thee.
SECOND VOWS
Wilt though have this man/woman to be thy wedded husband/wife, to live together in Matrimony? Wilt thou love him/her in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him/her, so long as ye both shall live? I WILL
EXCHANGE OF RINGS
These rings represent life's eternity and unity. And you give these as a symbol of your spiritual bond. May you love follow life's course, never yielding in times of sorrow and always strengthening in times of joy. Let them be a sign of love that knows no bounds.
JOSH/ECHOTA
I give this ring as a token of my abiding love for you. With it, I promise to uphold you as my eternal companion. And I promise to treasure it and our lives together.
JOIN HANDS
Ancient ancestors, givers of life, grant Josh and Echota the strength to weather any storm. Give them the tools to build monuments to their love. Give them the generosity to share their fortunes. And give them the wisdom to lead their families. Anoint their household with honey to sweeten the bitterness of life. Let them not shrink from the taste of pepper so they may shoulder the burdens of life. Purify their home with clear water to freshen the path to your wisdom, and give them the resolve to turn life's trials into lessons.
LITANY OF THANKSGIVING
For the vivid beauty of sunrise and sunset, For the harmonious colors of the earth, sky and sea, For the kindly graciousness of life-giving rain, For the stalwart comfort of the trees, For the penetrating and inescapable power of healing sunlight, For the ministering voices of birds, For the perfume and harmonies of flowers, For the cool depths of the forests, of caves, and of darkened glens, For the solemnizing roll of thunder and of surf on the shore, like pounding multitudes of hooves, For the unfailing gifts of soil, and mine, and forest, For the humbling grandeur of mountains, of stars, and of far-stretching plains, For the laws of the natural world that, through seedtime and harvest, day and night, summer and winter fail not, bring We bring unto Thee, O Great Spirit of Nature, our words of awe and of praise. For the marvels of the mind, the wonders of the imagination, and the untold potentialities of the dedicated reason, For the gift of speech, the healing touch of laughter, and the myriad gifts of everyday friendships, For the soothing touch of human sympathy, For the inspiration of poets, prophets, artists and heroes, We bring unto Thee, O Spirit of all Mankind, our words of awe and of praise. For father and mother love, rooted and grounded in Thee, For the mystery of a little child, as a symbol that we art ever renewing our race from age to age, For the desire to find love when we sit in our house, and when we walk by the way, when we lie down and when we rise up, For a home where each does his appointed work and every common task seems great and holy because it is done in the name of love For a home whose door is open wide to the stranger, We bring unto Thee, O Spirit of all Homes, our words of awe and of praise. For every experience that makes life meaningful: a wedding, the birth of a child, the death of a friend, rhythm and harmony, the pleasures of the dinner table, the wonder and fatigue of work, Thanks be to Thee, O Spirit of Life For the solemn trust of life, for each moment with its opportunity for joy and for service, For the deep and abiding love that binds two human hearts together, For the widening circle of loving concern that reaches to the hearts of others while it deepens and refreshes our own love,
We give Thee thanks, O Wankantanka, the Great Mystery
CONCLUSION AND PRONOUNCEMENT