Interfaith Christian/Catholic and Jewish Ceremony

Ketubah signing (Rabbi)

Greeting/Convocation: (Rev. Deb)

Welcome!
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of God and these witnesses, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. We, their families and friends, form a community of love, that together we may support and encourage them with our abundance of prayers and blessings on this day and for all of their lives.

Intro, Welcome and Chuppah (Rabbi)

Invocation: (Rev. Deb)

Dear Lord,
We ask you to shine your blessings upon Bride and Groom as they stand here before you with joined hands and open hearts, to begin their life together in marriage. Grant them your grace and love, oh Lord, that they may always find compassion, love, happiness and understanding for each other and for all those in the world. May your blessing of love be the gift that lifts their union to a place of sacredness on this day and for all their days together.
(Optional) We would also like to honor all those that could not be here with us today in body, but we know that they are here in spirit with us, to shower their blessings upon Bride and Groom today and for all of their days together.

Or

(Catholic invocation)
Almighty God, you have made the bond of marriage a holy mystery. Hear our prayers for Bride and Groom, who have come here today to be united in marriage. With Faith in you and in each other, they pledge their love today. May their lives bear witness to the reality of that love.

Passing of the sign of peace.

(optional) We can also put this after the address or later in the ceremony
In the spirit of love and unity, the bride and groom have asked that we pass the sign of peace. For those of you not familiar with this ritual, simply offer a handshake to you neighbor, with the words “peace be with you.” If you feel so inspired, a hug or a kiss would be most appropriate as well!

1st Reading:

(We can add readings here. You can include someone close to you here to do the readings.)

Serman/Address
(Rabbi)

Address: (Rev. Deb)

“For it is in loving, as well as in being loved, that we become most truly ourselves. No matter what we do, say, accomplish, or become, it is our capacity to love that ultimately defines us. In the end, nothing we do or say in this lifetime will matter as much as the way we have loved one another.” We come here today in a celebration and expression of love! Love is perhaps the greatest gift that God has given us. It is the glue that binds us to each other, and opens our hearts to one another. Love is our greatest teacher, for through love we can learn the inner working of the heart, through love we learn the secrets of our souls and through love we come to know ourselves on a deeper level. Love helps us grow, and allow us to move forward in this life with security, safety, and nurturing.

Bride and Groom have found the gift of love in each other, they have found the joy, comfort, and peace that comes from being with that special person whom you know is your best friend, your equal, your partner. They are here today to pledged their love to each other for all of their days, and they come before all of you who are their families and friends; you who hold their memories, their history, their pasts, their present, and now again they ask you to share and bare witness to a new chapter of their lives, as they share with you this gift of love they have found and the brilliant future that it holds for them. All of you who Bride and Groom call family play and important role in their lives not just today but everyday and they would like to send out their heartfelt thanks to all of you who are their families and friends for their continued love, support, and encouragement throughout their lives.

Bride and Groom share a love that for each of them embodies many of the same traits that they endeared in other. Their kindness and consideration for their partner, their attentiveness to each others needs, their admiration for each others strength and independence, the ease with which they can communicate, the beautiful way they compliment each other in every way and the devotion and love that they share for Anthony.

Together they are best friends, and so alike in many ways, In Yiddish, there’s a word “bershert” which means “it is meant to be.” Bride and Groom are each others “bershert” they are a perfectly right fit for each other, they are meant to be! They share generous and caring spirits, a strong sense of family values, a mutual respect, love and commitment to each other that is immeasurable and of course equally important, their shared sense of humor and the ability to always make each other laugh. Bride and Groom’s love has grown into a relationship that embraces all the values that create a strong and lasting Marriage.

(Optional) In the Celtic tradition there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship, (similiar to the yiddish Bershert) which I believe explains Bride and Groom’s deep connection. There is an old Gaelic term called Anam Cara, Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and Cara is the word for friend. So Anam Cara means “soul Friend.” With the person who is your Anam Cara, you could share your innermost self, your mind and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an anam Cara, your friendship cut across all convention, morality and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of your soul.” This friendship, this bond had no limitations it could not be broken by chance, no interval of time or space can severe or destroy it and what even death itself cannot part. In this love you are understood as you are without mask or pretension, you can be as you really are. Love allows understanding, and when you are understood, you feel free to release your self into the trust and shelter of the other person’s soul. Where you are understood you are home. This love and friendship that Bride and Groom have is the gift of a true Anam Cara, they are soul friends. And they come before you today to share with you the sweetness of this love and joy that they have found in each other.

Bride and Groom have found the gift of love in each other. A love that has grown over the years embracing all the joys and challenges that life often creates, and in each of those moments, being together they were able to bring out the best in each other. They come here at this moment to share with you the celebration, joy, and happiness that their relationship is and to take that relationship to a deeper level of commitment, a symbol of their dedication to each other, which is the joining of their loving spirits in marriage.

2nd Reading:

(Here we can put in unity candle, or sand ceremony, and Presentation of flowers for the parents)

Consecration: (Rev. Deb)

Marriage is an honorable estate, instituted in antiquity and revered since all time as the noblest and most tender of human relationships. It is therefore not to be entered into unadvisedly, but reverently and consciously. Into this holy estate these two persons come now to be joined.
I ask you both, as you stand in the presence of your family and friends, to remember that love, loyalty and compassion alone will avail as the foundation of a happy and enduring home. No other human ties are more tender, no other vows more sacred than those that you will now assume. If these sacred vows are honored and kept close to your hearts, and you endeavor to always live according to the best that is within each of you, your life together will be full of joy, peace and love.

Consent/Intent: (Rev. Deb)

In the presence of God, family and friends, I ask you to state your intentions.
Bride and Groom, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?
Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?
Bride and Groom respond: I will.

Vows:

At this time Brideand Groom Edward will state their vows.
(we can do the vows as a repeat after also)
Traditional Vow:
Do you, Groom, take Bride to be your wife. Do you promise to be true to her, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Will you love her and honor her all the days of your life?
Do you Bride, take Groom to be your husband. Do you promise to be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Will you love her and honor her all the days of your life.

or

Contemporary vows:

Do you Groom, take Bride to be your wife, your friend, your love and your lifelong companion: to share your life with her. To build your dreams together; to support her during times of trouble, and to rejoice with her in times of happiness. Do you promise to honor her, respect her and love her from this day forward and for all the days of your life. Groom: I do. Or I will
Repeat for Bride

Blessing of the Rings: (Rev. Deb)

As God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere, so let the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of your endless love.
Lord, Bless and consecrate Bride and Groom in their love for each other. May these rings be a symbol of true faith in each other and always remind them of their love.

Exchange of Rings (Rabbi)

Wine Ceremony (Rabbi)

The Seva Brachot (Seven Blessings)

Bride & Groom drink wine.

Pronouncement: (Rev. Deb)

Because, Groom and Bride, you have showered our hearts with expressions of your love, and promised each other the joy of all your days, it gives me great honor and pleasure to now pronounce you husband and wife.

The Kiss: kiss twice

You may now begin your life together with a kiss

Priestly Blessing and Breaking of the glass explaination (Rabbi)

Breaking of the glass Mazal Tov!!


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