Welcome to the section on wedding ceremonies. Below you will find a variety of ceremonies submitted by our ministers. Some of the material is general use, but I believe most of it was written specifically by our ULC ministers. At the Universal Life Church Seminary, we try to share as much with our ministers as possible to make you the best minister you can be.
If you'd like to share a ceremony of any kind that you've written, please send it to amy@ulcseminary.org and let me know that you'd like it posted. We offer wedding ceremonies, funeral sermons, Pagan material and more at this site and it's here for your free use. The generosity of our ministers is unsurpassed and we hope you will give back to the Seminary by sending us one of your ceremonies or perhaps a story of your experiences to share with others.
Universal Life ChurchJewish Marriage Ceremony (This is a full Jewish ceremony rich in the traditional spirituality of a Jewish marriage ceremony combined with consistent romantic language. The Benedictions or other spiritual language is in strict accordance with the guildelines of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. However, the wording of the ceremony does not imply officiation by a Rabbi or Jewish officiant. This ceremony should not be used to replace officiation by a Rabbi - but instead it is an emergency fill-in ceremony or when a Rabbi is impossible to obtain due to date and time. There are subtle language choice changes allowing attendance by non-Jewish guests without hypocracy. The ceremony uncompromisingly declares the Bride and Groom ascribe to the faith of Israel and that the ceremony is fully in reverence to the Jewish faith. However, it does not declare all attending are of the Jewish faith to allow comfortable attendance and participation b
Sunday, August 01, 2010
(Bride's Name) this ring I give you, my personal gift and my personal promise, of love and trust, and pride that you are my wife. (Groom's Name) this ring I give you, my personal gift and my personal promise, of love and trust, and pride that you are my husband.Universal Life Church
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Rose Ceremony: ______ and _______, you will remember this day for the rest of your lives. Those of us who are already married know that marriage, like life, brings with it many joys and also many challenges. We also know that love, while beautiful, does not always show its prettiest face. There are days when we may find it hard to express the depth of our love for one another. It is my hope and prayer that the two of you will set aside a special place in your home for roses, ancient symbols of love. When words fail you, or when the challenges of life or marriage begin to weigh on you, go out and get a rose, and put it in that special place in your home, so that the other will be reminded of this moment, and of the love you feel for one another. As a token of that love, I would like to ask you to make these roses your first gifts to one anothe
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
PAGAN MARRIAGE CEREMONY The following wedding ceremony was written to provide for Pagans who must of necessity be wed in the presence of those who are not pagan and are perhaps unaware that the bride and groom are pagan. [PRIEST] We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of ____bride______ and ____groom______. There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls, has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to Life, posterior to Death, initial of Cr
Monday, July 26, 2010
Universal Life Church - Ring Ceremony(Said by the Bride as she accepts the ring.)(Groom's Name) I thank you for this beautiful ring, I accept it as a symbol that we are one with each other. This ring will remind me of you, I will wear it with love, all of my life. (Said by the Groom as he accepts the ring.) (Bride's Name) I thank you for this beautiful ring, I accept it as a symbol that we are one with each other. This ring will remind me of you, I will wear it with love, all of my life.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Universal Life ChurchRose Ceremony: Marriage is a coming together of two lives, and a celebration of the love of two people. But it is more. The love that you feel for one another is the flowering of a seed your mothers planted in your hearts many years ago. When you were first born, you were a bundle of diapers and tears, and your mothers lost sleep caring for you. Their love for you has brought them great happiness and great challenges, and their love did not diminish as they met these challenges. That is the great lesson you can bring into your marriage. As you embrace one another in your love, so too do you embrace the families which have been brought together on this happy occasion. As a token of your gratitude for your families, I would like to ask you to offer these symbols of eternal love, these roses, to your mothers. (Both bride and groom can hand the rose
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Unity Candle CeremonyIf you decide to have a Unity Candle in your ceremony, you will need two standard tapers and one large candle in the middle. The two outer candles are lit just prior to the ceremony, either by the ushers, the mothers of the bride and groom, or other family members. If you are planning an outdoor ceremony, lighting a Unity Candle is not possible. However, it is possible to include the words below in the ceremony, with minor alterations, and then to light the candle indoors afterward. The flame has traditionally been thought of as a symbol of the spirit. _______ and _______, you have learned much in your individual lives. [Optional, if the mothers have lit the candles just before the ceremony: Your mothers are both here to bless your marriage, and it is fitting that they have lit the two individual candles you
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
______ and _______, you have consented together to marriage before this company, pledged your faith and declared your unity by each giving and receiving a ring, and, as you are now joined together in mutual esteem and devotion, it is my privilege as an ordained minister to pronounce that you are married, and to offer you this Benediction of the Apaches: ``Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness for you, but there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your togetherness, and may your days be good, and long upon, the earth.''Congratulations, you may now kiss the bride! Alternative: Congratulations, you may now kiss one another.(Optional:) Ladies and gentlemen, may I present
Monday, July 12, 2010
Universal Life Church James: On behalf of Trystan and Thomas, I'd like to welcome you all and thank you for being here to share in this happy occasion.A wedding ceremony is an outward form. To be true, it must be a symbol of something inner and real: a sacred personal union which nature might mirror, a church can solemnize, or a state may declare legal for some, but which only love can create and mutual loyalty fulfill.1To last, a marriage should be a consecration of each person to the other, and of both to the wider community of which they are a part. Because Thomas and Trystan feel a great closeness and respect for all of you here, they chose each of you to witness their vows today. Marriage is an intensely personal act, but, in order for the couple's marriage to gain strength to last throughout the years, their union must be supported by their greater society of family and friends.In this spirit, Trystan and Thomas ask all of you now: do you support their marriage and
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Childrens Unity Candle Ceremony Invite children forward. (Bride's and Groom's Names) light the candles which represent love for each other and for (Child's Name).From the uniqueness of these separate flames, they kindle a larger and brighter flame which represents the union between (Groom's, Bride's and Child's Names).The side candles remain burning to symbolize the continuing importance of the individual integrity within the marriage relationship. The greater height of the center candle depicts their belief that together they can become more than either could alone.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
A minister who was very fond of pure, hot horseradish always kept a bottle of it on his dining room table. He offered some to a guest, who took a big spoonful.
When the guest finally was able to speak, he gasped, "I've heard many ministers preach hellfire, but you are the first one I've met who passed out a sample of it."
The temporary Sunday School teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had been told the combination, but couldn't quite remember it.
Finally she went to the pastor's study and asked for help. The pastor came into the room and began to turn the dial.
After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment.
Finally he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently.
Then he looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number, and opened the lock.
The teacher was amazed. "I'm in awe at your faith, pastor," she said.
"It's really nothing," he answered. "The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling."
Johnny, a very bright 5 year old, told his daddy he'd like to have a baby brother and, along with his request, offered to do whatever he could to help. His dad, a very bright 35 year old, paused for a moment and then replied, " I'll tell you what, Johnny, if you pray every day for two months for a baby brother, I guarantee that God will give you one!"
Johnny responded eagerly to his dad's challenge and went to his bedroom early that night to start praying for a baby brother.
He prayed every night for a whole month, but after that time, he began to get skeptical. He checked around the neighborhood and found out that what he thought was going to happen, had never occurred in the history of the neighborhood. You just don't pray for two months and then, whammo- a new baby brother. So, Johnny quit praying. After another month, Johnny's mother went to the hospital. When she came back home, Johnny's parents called him into the bedroom. He cautiously walked into the room, not expecting to find anything, and there was a little bundle lying right next to his mother. His dad pulled back the blanket and there was -- not one baby brother, but two!! His mother had twins!
Johnny's dad looked down at him and said, "Now aren't you glad you prayed?"
Johnny hesitated a little and then looked up at his dad and said, "Yes, but aren't you glad I quit when I did?"
Three preachers sat discussing the best positions for prayer while a telephone repairman worked nearby. "Kneeling is definitely best," claimed one.
"No," another contended. "I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven."
"You're both wrong," the third insisted. "The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate, face down on the floor."
The repairman could contain himself no longer. "Hey, fellas, " he interrupted, "the best prayin' I ever did was hangin' upside down from a telephone pole."
A journalist was assigned to the Jerusalem bureau of his newspaper. He gets an apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall. After several weeks he realizes that whenever he looks at the wall he sees an old Jewish man praying vigorously.
The journalist wondered whether there was a publishable story here. He goes down to the wall, introduces himself and says: "You come every day to the wall. What are you praying for?"
The old man replies: "What am I praying for? In the morning I pray for world peace, then I pray for the brotherhood of man. I go home, have a glass of tea, and I come back to the wall to pray for the eradication of illness and disease from the earth."
The journalist is taken by the old man's sincerity and persistence. "You mean you have been coming to the wall to pray every day for these things?"
The old man nods.
"How long have you been coming to the wall to pray for these things?"
The old man becomes reflective and then replies: "How long? Maybe twenty, twenty-five years."
The amazed journalist finally asks: "How does it feel to come and pray every day for over 20 years for these things?"
"How does it feel?" the old man replies. "It feels like I'm talking to a wall."
4-year-old boy who was asked to return thanks before Christmas dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip.
Then he paused, and everyone waited--and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, "If I thank God for the broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?"
One day, Joe, Bob and Dave were hiking in a wilderness area when they came upon a large, raging, violent river. They needed to get to the other side, but had no idea of how to do so.
Joe prayed to God, saying, "Please God, give me the strength to cross this river."
Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours, although he almost drowned a couple of times.
Seeing this, Dave prayed to God, saying, "Please God, give me the strength and the tools to cross this river."
Poof! God gave him a rowboat and he was able to row across the river in about an hour, after almost capsizing the boat a couple of times.
Bob had seen how this worked out for the other two, so he also prayed to God saying, "Please God, give me the strength and the tools, and the intelligence, to cross this river."
Poof! God turned him into a woman. She looked at the map, hiked upstream a couple of hundred yards, then walked across the bridge.
little boy was kneeling beside his bed with his mother and grandmother and softly saying his prayers, "Dear God, please bless Mummy and Daddy and all the family and please give me a good night's sleep."
Suddenly he looked up and shouted, "And don't forget to give me a bicycle for my birthday!!"
"There is no need to shout like that," said his mother. "God isn't deaf."
