commitment ceremony
# invocation
dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate autumn and corey as they make a promise of love and commitment to one another.
commiting to share their brightest days and weather out their darkest nights with someone is no small thing and cannot be done lightly.
commitment is about trust. it’s about patience, forgiveness, and hope. it’s what happens with a relationship becomes a home — a place of safety and love — to which each partner can return, again and again.
# readings, music, blessings
as we reflect on the profound power of trust and commitment to create strong and lasting families, we look to those who have been most touched by the love between autumn and corey.
# dave reads “the present” by michael donaghy
for the present there is just one moon, though every level pond gives back another.
but the bright disc shining in the black lagoon, perceived by astrophysicist and lover,
is milliseconds old. and even that light’s seven minutes older than its source.
and the stars we think we see on moonless nights are long extinguished. and, of course,
this very moment, as you read this line, is literally gone before you know it.
forget the here-and-now. we have no time but this device of wantonness and wit.
make me this present then: your hand in mine, and we’ll live out our lives in it.
# declaration of intent
do you, corey, promise to spend your life with autumn, meeting each new day together, continuing to deepen your understanding of her, treating her with kindness and compassion, and welcoming each new chapter of life together with curiosity and patience?
do you, autumn, promise to spend your life with corey, meeting each new day together, continuing to deepen your understanding of him, treating him with kindness and compassion, and welcoming each new chapter of life together with curiosity and patience?
# vows
autumn and corey will now be bound together in love and commitment in a sand pouring ceremony. this symbolizes a deepening of their connection, and a union strengthened by their words of faithfulness, but stronger than words alone.
( exchange vows )
# pronouncement
by the authority vested in me by autumn and corey, and with the trust of you all here today, i now declare you committed. you may now share a kiss. 😘