Commitment Ceremony

Welcome and Call to the Celebration

Welcome, you have all come today to witness and celebrate the drawing together of two separate lives. This may be the first ceremony of this type you have participated in or witnessed, or it may not, but its purpose and its heart is quite simple even as it is profound. We have come to that ___________________ and ____________________ may celebrate and consecrate their spiritual union. It is by their love and that of their Higher Power that they will be united here today. And they wish to celebrate this passage in the presence of your love and support and to share their joy in each other with you, their family and their friends.

The Vision

Love is perhaps the most profound experience that we can have. The sensual part of love is one of life's greatest joys, and when this is combined with real friendship, both are infinitely enhanced. The day-to-day companionship, the pleasure in doing things together, or in doing separate things but delighting to exchange experiences, is a continuous and central joy that those in love share together.

_____________________ and ___________________, your union offers you the highest and most intimate experience of love that we know. A growing bond of affection, trust and mutual concern can bring you into a fuller life than either of you could achieve alone. As you share with each other your individual differences, your life together can become richer, more complete, and more spiritually satisfying. A union in such a sense will entail a uniting on all the levels of your being: body and mind, heart and spirit. Then, the longer that your are together, the more you grow and develop together, the deeper will be your lives together in union.

Remember always that love, loyalty, and trust are the foundations of a lasting and happy union. As you strive to fulfill the commitment that you declare to one another here, you life together can be increasingly full of joy, satisfaction, and peace. I pray that you will hold fast to the vision and the promise of this special day.

Declaration of Intention

Minister to the couple individually:_________________, do you take ________________ as your partner in life, promising to tenderly care for him/her, to respect his/her individuality, to cherish him/her as he/she is, to love him/her with fidelity? (I do)

Commitment Vows

(Each repeating) I, _______________, take you, _______________, to be my beloved partner in life, to stand behind, beside and with you always, in times of celebration and in times of sorrow, in times of joy and in times of pain, in times of sickness and in times of health. I will live with you, love and cherish you as long as we both shall live.

Exchange of Rings

(Each repeating) In giving you this ring, I join my life with yours, and pledge my everlasting love.

Lighting of the Unity Candle or Pouring of Sand (Optional. Or whatever type extra ceremony you wish if any)

_______________ and ______________, these two candles now lit before you symbolize each of you in your individual uniqueness. The larger candle, still unlit, is to symbolize the power and the vision of your union together. Each of you has brought to this moment a wealth of personality, of background, of experience and of strengths and weaknesses. And you each bring all of these to your union. You will be lighting a new light together, using the fire that each of you brings to this place and this decision. But do not extinguish your individual lights, lest there be less light and warmth. May these flames burn brightly and the warmth of your love for each other and for others be all the greater.

Prayer and the Seven Blessings

O God, may the miracle of your love bless ___________'s and _________'s union. Give them the willingness and patience to fulfill their commitments to one another and fill them with freedom and happiness. Grant them the serenity to accept the things that they cannot change, courage to change the things they can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

Pronouncement

With the promises they have made to one another, and by the power of their love which comes through their Higher Power, _______________ and ________________ have been joined in a spiritual union. They are now partners sharing one life from this day forward.