To be held in a church prior to the marriage
Click here for an RTF file of this service in A4/A5 booklet form
INTRODUCTION
1.
The priest says
Jesus says, As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. John 15.9
The Lord be with you
And also with you
2.
The priest says
xxx and yyy you come together to seek God’s Blessing on your intended marriage. Do you affirm your desire to live as followers of Christ, strengthened through the prayers of the Church?
We do
Acknowledging the breakdown of a former covenant of marriage, will you together pray for God’s strength to fulfil in love and faithfulness the vows you are about to take?
We will
THE COLLECT
3.
The priest says
Let us pray:
Almighty God, giver of life and love:
Strengthen and guide your servants xxx and yyy
as they seek your blessing in marriage.
Help us to acknowledge all that is past,
and to turn to you in faith and hope,
trusting in the new life that lies ahead,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
4.
Te Deum, part iii.
Save your people Lord and bless your inheritance:
govern them and uphold them for ever.
Day by day we bless you:
we praise your name for ever
Today Lord keep us from all sin:
have mercy on us, Lord have mercy
In you Lord is our hope:
may we never be confounded.
5.
Ephesians 3.14 – end
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
PENITENCE
6.
The priest says
If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins,
God is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1.8,2
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith,
firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments,
and to live in love and peace with all people.
After a short pause for self examination, all say
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned in thought and word and deed, and in what we have left undone.
We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may walk in newness of life to the glory of your name. Amen.
The priest pronounces the absolution:
Almighty God
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy on you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYERS
7.
Almighty and merciful Father,
the strength of all who put their trust in you:
We pray that you will enrich xxx and yyy by your grace
that they may truly and faithfully keep those vows
which they will make to one another in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Most blessed Father
from whom all pure love comes,
bless your children xxx and yyy
Grant that the hopes and prayers in their hearts
may be fulfilled through your mercy.
Draw them closer to each other and to you;
give them grace to bear one another’s burdens
and to share one another’s joys;
and grant that they may live together in your love
unto their lives’ end;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Direct us, Lord, in all our doings,
with your most gracious favour,
and further us with your continual help;
that in all our works
begun, continued and ended in you,
we may glorify your holy name
and finally, by your mercy
attain everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
O Lord,
forgive what we have been,
sanctify what we are,
and direct what we shall be,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
8.
As our Saviour Christ has taught us, so we pray:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen
THE GRACE:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore. Amen