Marriage Program for Scott & Suzanne Wlaschin November 29th, 2003

Marilyn Sewell, Minister

Introduction

What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other in all gladness, to be one with each other in the silent unspoken memories?
-- George Eliot

We are gathered here to unite this man and this woman in marriage, which is an institution founded in nature, ordained by the state, sanctioned by the church, and made honorable by the faithful keeping of good men and women in all ages.

It is, therefore, not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but discreetly, advisedly, and with due reverence. This celebration is the outward token of a sacred and inward union of hearts, which the church may bless and the state make legal but which neither state nor church can create or annul, a union created by loving purpose and kept by abiding will. Into this estate these two persons come now to be united.

Reading 1

Excerpt from "The Prophet", by Kahlil Gibran

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you, yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you, believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not, nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love, you should not say, "God is in my heart,"
but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love,
for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart
and a song of praise upon your lips.

Affirmation of Commitment

Scott, do you take Suzanne to be your wife, to love her and cherish her, to help her and honor her, and to give her understanding and comfort in whatever the future may bring, in confidence that together you are responsible for your destiny.

I do.

Suzanne, do you take Scott to be your husband, to love him and cherish him, to help him and honor him, and to give him understanding and comfort in whatever the future may bring, in confidence that together you are responsible for your destiny.

I do.

Reading 2

"somewhere i have never traveled" by e.e.cummings

somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens, only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

Reading 3

"Wedding Poem For Schele and Phil", by Bill Holm

A marriage is risky business these days
Says some old and prudent voice inside.
We don't need twenty children anymore
To keep the family line alive,
Or gather up the hay before the rain.
No law demands respectability.
Love can arrive without certificate or cash.
History and experience both make clear
That men and women do not hear
The music of the world in the same key,
Rather rolling dissonances doomed to clash.

So what is left to justify a marriage?
Maybe only the hunch that half the world
Will ever be present in any room
With just a single pair of eyes to see it.
Whatever is invisible to one
Is to the other an enormous golden lion
Calm and sleeping in the easy chair.
After many years, if things go right
Both lion and emptiness are always there;
The one never true without the other.

But the dark secret of the ones long married,
A pleasure never mentioned to the young,
Is the sweet heat made from two bodies in a bed
Curled together on a winter night,
The smell of the other always in the quilt,
The hand set quietly on the other's flank
That carries news from another world
Light-years away from the one inside
That you always thought you inhabited alone.
The heat in that hand could melt a stone.

Vows

I, Suzanne, take you, Scott, to be my husband. To keep you safe, to make you laugh every day, to share the joys and wonders of the world with you, to understand you and love you always.

I, Scott, take you, Suzanne, to be my wife. To keep you safe, to make you laugh every day, to share the joys and wonders of the world with you, to understand you and love you always.

Pronouncement

For as much as Scott and Suzanne have consented together in marriage, declaring their love for one another, I declare that they are now husband and wife. May their days be long upon the earth and may they dwell in love and joy and happiness together.

Prayer

We pray rich blessings upon Scott and Suzanne, who in the presence of this company have pledged unto each other all that mind and hand and heart can give. May they remain ever faithful to the vows taken this day. In serenity of spirit may they learn to face with courage and patience whatever afflictions may be visited upon them or those whom they love. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health may the love which they have for one another grow in meaning and strength until its beauty is made manifest in a common devotion to all that is compassionate and life-giving. May they thus become witnesses to the sacredness of life in the midst of each common day. Amen.

Closing Words

May the love in your hearts give you joy. May the greatness of life bring you peace. And may your days be good, and your lives be long upon the earth.