1. society
2. social institution
3. marriage

The Celebration and Blessing of
the Marriage of
Jeffrey Kuchar and Robert Ward
Saturday, April 11, 2015
5 p.m.
The people are invited to say together the text that is in boldface.
We Gather in God’s Name
Gathering
Prelude
Largo, from Xerxes
G. F. Handel
Opening Music
Song of the Indian Guest, from Sadko
Rimsky-Korsakov
The people may stand.
Introduction
Adapted from A New Zealand Prayer Book.
The Celebrant greets the people, then says to the congregation:
We have come together to witness the promises of Jeffrey Kuchar
and Robert Ward in marriage; to share with them in their happiness
and in their hopes for the future.
Marriage involves caring and giving. It involves learning to share
one’s life with another person, forgiving as Christ forgives; enjoying
the love and meaning which can be found together. It involves
facing together whatever adversity may arise.
Here before God, William Robert Ward and Jeffrey Kuchar wish
to pledge their love for each other and their desire to spend their
lives together. If any of you can show just cause why they may not
lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace.
Then the Celebrant says to Jeffrey and Robert
I require and charge you both, here in the presence of God, that if
either of you know any reason why you may not be united in
marriage lawfully according to the state of Arizona, and in
accordance with God’s Word, you do now confess it.
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Welcome
Jeffrey and Robert, we welcome you. We are glad to join with you
in the celebration of your marriage, to witness your vows, to pray
with you, and to wish you joy in your life together.
Loving God, touch us with an awareness of your presence in all the
world around us. Awaken in us a sense of wonder that you have
created us in love. As we celebrate the marriage of Robert and
Jeffrey, deepen our love for those close to us, and for those who,
although strangers, need our concern. Help Jeffrey and Robert as
they commit themselves to each other, and grant us all a
heightened sense of joy in life, because we share this moment with
them. Amen.
The Declaration of Consent
The Celebrant says to Robert
Robert, will you take Jeffrey to be your husband? Will you share his
joys and ease his burdens? Will you be honest with him, and be
faithful to him always, as long as you both shall live?
Robert answers
I will.
The Celebrant says to Jeffrey
Jeffrey, will you take Robert to be your husband? Will you share his
joys and ease his burdens? Will you be honest with him, and be
faithful to him always, as long as you both shall live?
Jeffrey answers
I will.
The Celebrant then addresses the congregation, saying
Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to
uphold these two persons in their marriage?
People:
We will.
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We Proclaim and Respond to the Word
Salutation and Collect
The Celebrant then says to the people
May God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Let us pray.
O gracious and everliving God, you have created us in your image:
Look compassionately upon Jeffrey and Robert who come to you
seeking your blessing, and assist them with your grace, that with
true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep the
promises and vows they make; through Jesus the Christ, who lives
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
A Reading from 1 Corinthians [13:1-13]
I
f I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not
have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I
have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but
do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions,
and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have
love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious
or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it
is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but
rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies,
they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for
knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and
we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial
will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I
thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an
adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror,
dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part;
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then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now
faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is
love.
Reader:
People:
Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s People.
Thanks be to God.
Homily
The Rev. Steve Keplinger
Musical Interlude
Ave Maria
Franz Schubert
The Marriage
Jeffrey, facing Robert and taking his right hand in his, says
Robert, today I take you to be my husband. Whatever life may
bring, I will love and care for you always.
Then they loose their hands, and Robert, still facing Jeffrey, takes his right
hand in his, and says
Jeffrey, today I take you to be my husband. Whatever life may
bring, I will love and care for you always.
The Celebrant receives the rings and says
Let these rings say to all that your commitment is deep and
life-long.
Robert places the ring on Jeffrey’s finger and says
Let this ring symbolize our one life together.
Jeffrey places the ring on Robert’s finger and says
Let this ring symbolize our one life together.
The Pronouncement
Then the Celebrant joins the right hands of the couple and says
Now that Jeffrey and Robert have given themselves to each other
by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and
receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are united in marriage, in
the Name of the Triune God. Those whom God has joined together
let no one put asunder.
People:
Amen.
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The Prayers
Celebrant: Let us pray.
Creator of love, love that created our bodies, inspirited our souls,
called us to companionship and made us your family, bless us
gathered today as the community in which Robert and Jeffrey may
be supported and upheld as a couple, as the family in which they
may enjoy the freedom to be themselves, as the church in which
they may feel your divine welcome pronounced on all that is good.
Amen.
Incarnational God, in making your word flesh, you hallow our
bodies, transform water to wine, and love us without measure. Now
through your spirit, you hear our sighs too deep for words, sighs of
loving and longing, sighs of body and soul. Amen.
May the peace of God which is beyond our understanding keep
guard over Jeffrey and Robert’s thoughts and hearts. May God keep
you friends with one another, forgiving one another in kindness.
May you remain steadfast in happiness or suffering. May hope keep
you joyful. May God make you compassionate and brave. Above all,
may there always be love to bind and keep you whole. Amen.
Make Robert and Jeffrey’s life together a sign of Christ’s love to this
sinful and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement,
forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair. Amen.
The Blessing of the Marriage
The people remain standing.
Celebrant:
All praise and glory to you most gracious God, for in the beginning
you created us men and women. Grant your blessing then, we pray,
to Jeffrey and Robert, so that in marriage they may be a source of
blessing to each other and to all, and live together in holy love until
their lives’ end. Amen.
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The Peace
The Priest says to the people
May the Peace of God be always with you.
People: And also with you.
The newly married couple greet each other.
The couple then come together again at the front of the congregation for the
final blessing.
Final Blessing
Celebrant:
All praise and blessing to you, God of love, creator of the universe,
maker of humanity in your likeness, source of blessing for married
life. All praise to you for you have created courtship and marriage,
joy and gladness, feasting and laughter, pleasure and delight. May
your blessing come in full upon Robert and Jeffrey. May they know
your presence in their joys and in their sorrows. May they reach old
age in the company of friends and come at last to your eternal
kingdom. Amen.
The Celebrant then blesses the congregation.
Dismissal
Celebrant: Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the Creator’s
love seen through Jeffrey and Robert, and rejoicing in
the power of the Holy Spirit. Alleluia! Alleluia!
People: Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Recessional Music
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, from Solomon
G. F. Handel
The wedding party recesses.
The Rev. Steve Keplinger, Celebrant
David Wachter, Organist
Thanks to Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and their staff!
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Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
2331 East Adams Street • Tucson, Arizona 85719 • (520) 327-6857
Grace St. Paul’s parish leaders include Roger Pierce, Senior Warden; Bill Moore, Junior
Warden; Rob Rauh, Chancellor; Tom Pitello, Treasurer; Lou Ann Bieging, Clerk of the
Vestry. The clergy are Kirk S. Smith, Bishop of Arizona; Steve Keplinger, Rector; Mary
Delaney, Joe Fitzgerald, Rosanna Kazanjian, Priest Associates; Chris Ledyard, Nancy
Meister Book, Deacons. Others who serve in our parish are Jane Click, Pianist; Pamela
Decker, Organist; Argelia El-Khayat, Childcare Giver; Rosalind Garcia, Director of
Children, Youth & Family Ministries; Christina Jarvis, Music Director; Patti Morrison,
Bookkeeper; Jean Smart, Parish Administrator; James Teal, Facilities Assistant; David
Wachter, Publications Manager, Computer Specialist, & Associate Organist; James White,
Sexton.