Sermon Tone Analysis

Saturday, September 10, 2022

cue Cayley (stand by me)

and then Jeremy and Morganna’s Mom,

groomsmen & Regan (rings)

and then the bridesmaids and flowergirl.

WELCOME

This is a joyous occasion,

For Josh & Morganna

And for their families and friends

As we come together to celebrate

One of the deepest of human relationships.

This celebration marks for them

A new state in the process of becoming;

Of self-realization for each of them,

And now for both together;

One that began in childhood

And will continue as each of them grows

And their love deepens.

It is for them a covenant of becoming

And a continuing celebration of God’s gift of love and life.

Life is like a tapestry in the process of being woven.

Out of this tangled world,

Where beautiful and patterns of life

Are often difficult to discern

These two have been drawn together

By their love for each other.

The joining of their lives brings into being a new creation.

Henceforth, their lives will be woven in one design.

The joys and sorrows,

The disappointments and achievements of one

Will support and be supported by those of the other.

The design will not come easily.

It must be woven with deep love and great care,

And each of them must sacrifice some freedom to the relationship.

But the greater freedom

Which comes with the sharing of love

Increases the possibilities for variety and richness

In the tapestry of life together.

On behalf of Morganna & Josh

Let me say that they are thrilled that you are here.

Let’s take a moment - take a deep breath - and maybe one more?

to acknowledge God’s presence here with us on this beautiful day.

INVOCATION

Thank you, God, for the strong bond of love between Josh & Morganna.

Thank you for this wedding ceremony with family, friends and loved ones.

Bless these next moments as we bear witness to this couple

and the gift they are to one another and to those gathered here today.

Amen.

DECLARATION OF SUPPORT

Josh & Morganna,

Is it true that you come to be married of your own accord?

Yes

With whom do you come,

And whose blessing accompanies you?

I come with my parents

And the blessing of my families and friends.

[Andrea to all those gathered]

Do you, the friends and family

of Morganna & Josh,

give your blessing to them,

and do you promise, in good times and bad,

to do everything in your power to support them in their marriage?

If so, say, “We do.”

“We do!”

[You may be seated.]

[Josh & Morganna move to one side, Andrea to the other]

CHARGE -

It is a privilege to be here with you on this day.

Thank you for inviting me to participate in this sacred occasion.

One of the things a minister usually offers during a wedding ceremony is a charge.

A challenge.

or a word of encouragement as you enter into this next chapter.

And so I have one for you today.

Choose one another.

It sounds obvious.

But our tendency as humans is to drift towards certainty or cynicism.

To view the world through a lens of scarcity.

And to grow impatient and even become unkind towards the people we love the most.

And so, I have a three part challenge for you today.

(And for all of you.

Not just the married people, or those in long term relationships.

These challenges apply to marriage for sure, but they work with all human relationships… parents, children, friends, coworkers, neighbours.

People.

So you all can listen in - and Josh & Morganna, I’m going to challenge you to choose one another.

Choose one another.

It sounds obvious.

But that’s the challenge.

And on a day like today where you are promising your love and faithfulness to one another, it would be really easy to gloss over the unknowns that the two of you will face.

Joys yes, but also sorrows.

Wonderful surprises, but also those moments of deep heartbreak and humanity that we can’t plan for but that are part of the human experience.

Today, you’re not promising to choose one another when it’s convenient.

Or when it doesn’t cost you anything.

You’re covenanting together today to keep choosing one another.

And that’s beautiful thing.

I know that you know how beautiful and varied this can be because you have talked about the people in your lives who have modelled this for you.

Some of those role models are here with you today.

And of course, you’ve also likely seen things (or will see things) that you don’t want to replicate in your life together.

But relationships, like tapestries are unique… so you get to pay attention to the great role models and to the cautionary tales - but you don’t get to copy and paste someone else’s marriage nor do you get to “opt out” automatically from patterns and habits and personalities!

And so the challenge is: Choose one another.

Again, it sounds obvious.