ULC SEMINARY

Welcome to The ULC Ceremonies Website

Here are a few various ceremonies submitted to the Universal Life Church Seminary website. For more ceremonies, please go to the ULC Seminary main website.

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If you are a minister who wants to perform a ceremony, start a business or open a church, this is the place to come. We have supplies and services to help you in your quest to find your path.

Weddings
By Rev. Annie
2008


Today, we come together to celebrate a day that has long been anticipated. A day filled with joy, happiness, contentment and jubilation. We are here to witness the greatest miracle of all: the miracle of love. In electing to merge their lives together as one, _____ and _____ embark upon a journey that will take the rest of their days to complete. That voyage begins here, this day, this moment, and they are honored and privileged that all of you have decided to share this day with them.20Today, I will weave together words of wisdom from all corners of the earth, to express joy and respect for this wondrous occasion.

"Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough."1

"Ultimately there comes a time when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created. To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take. If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of20love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling."2

If it were possible to begin this ceremony by gathering together all the wishes of happiness for and from all present here . . . if we could gather together those precious wishes of affection and our very fondest hopes and turn them into music, we would be listening now to a most inspiring anthem, composed of the most harmonious notes possible to produce.


Even though this is not possible, just speaking of it should assure_____ and_____that our hearts are attuned to theirs in these moments so meaningful to all of us. For 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.

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“Love is a mighty power, a great and complete good. Love alone lightens every burden, and makes rough places smooth. It bears every hardship as though it were nothing, and renders all bitterness sweet and acceptable. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better in heaven or earth; for love is born of God. Love flies, runs and leaps for joy. It is free and unrestrained. Love knows no limits, but ardently transcends all bounds. Love feels no burden, takes no account of toil, attempts things beyond its strength. Love sees nothing as impossible, for it feels able to achieve all things. It is strange and effective, while those who lack love faint and fail. Love is not fickle and sentimental, nor is it intent on vanities. Like a living flame and a burning torch, it surges upward and surely surmounts every obstacle.”3

Marriage is an act of faith and a personal commitment as well as a moral and physical union between the parties. It has been described as the best and most important relationship that can exist between two human beings; the construction of their love and trust into a single growing energy of spiritual life. It is a moral commitment that requires and deserves daily attention since no earthly happiness exceeds that of a reciprocal satisfaction in the marital state. Marriage should be a life-long consecration to the ideal of loving kindness, backed with the will and effort to make it last.

“Sooner or later we begin to understand that love is more than verses on valentines, and romance in the movies. We begin to know that love is here and now, real and true, the most important thing in our lives. For love is the creator of our favorite memories, and the foundation of our fondest dreams. Love is a promise that is always kept, a fortune that can never be spent, a seed that can flourish in even the most unlikely of places. And this radiance that never fades, this mysterious and magical joy, is the greatest treasure of all -- one known only by those who love."4


_____ will you take _____ to be your wedded spouse, to love, to cherish, to continually bestow your heart's deepest devotion? (He/She replies "I will")


And _____will you take_____ to be your wedded spouse, to love, to cherish, to continually bestow your heart's deepest devotion? (He/She replies "I will")

Please hold hands and repeat after me: “______, you are consecrated to me now as my partner in life: from this day forward, to love, to cherish and to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, to share together as long as we both shall live.”

And, “_______, you are consecrated to me now as my partner in life, from this day forward , to love and cherish, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, to care and share together as long as we both shall live.”
What token of your devotion do you offer each other to signify your commitment?

(couple retrieves rings from best man/maid of honor/applicable parties,
and hand both rings to the minister).

Related Resources

May these rings be blessed as the symbol of this affectionate unity. These two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever they go, may they always return to one another in their togetherness. May these two find in each other the love for which all men and women yearn. May they grow in understanding and in compassion. May the home which they establish together be such a place of sanctuary that many will find there a friend. May these rings, on their fingers, symbolize the touch of the spirit of love in the heart.

(Minister hands first ring to wedding participant on left)

______, in placing this ring on _____'s finger, repeat after me: "I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity." (groom places ring on partner's finger)

(Minister hands remaining ring to wedding participant on right)

________, in placing this ring on _______'s finger, repeat after me: "I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity." (bride places ring on partner's finger)

In as much as _______ and ________ have consented together in marriage before this company; have pledged their faith and declared their unity by each giving and receiving a ring -- and are now joined in mutual esteem and devotion, I pronounce that they are bound by matrimony -- and offer them these final words of goodwill:

"A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the "little" things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say, ”I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values, and common objectives.
It is standing together and facing the world.
It is forming a circle that gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right person -- it is being the right partner."5

From this day forward, may you be that right partner, and may you be that right partner, to each other. Go in peace and in love, and live a life that is full and joyous.

1“Love Is Friendship Caught Fire”, by Laura Hendricks
2"The Irrational Season", by Madeleine L'Engle
3"On Love", by Thomas a Kempis
4 “Sooner or Later”
5“The Art of a Good Marriage”, by Wilferd Arlan Peterson