Marriage Ceremonies
A very important role of any minister is to officiate marriage ceremonies. Below is a ceremony that may be altered to fit most circumstances.
We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall join_______________________ and ____________________________ in marriage.
Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage,
they must speak now or forever hold their peace.
____________________and _______________________ , I would ask that you always treat yourself and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together today. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage - as they do to every relationship at one time or another - focus on what still seems right between you, not only the part that seems wrong. This way, when clouds of trouble hide the sun in your lives and you lose sight of it for a moment, you can remember that the sun is still there. And if each of you will take responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and happiness.
VOWS
(use these vows or write your own.)
________________, do you take _______________ to be your Wife? Do you promise to love,
honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others while holding only unto her forevermore?
("I do")
(________________, do you take __________________ to be your Husband? Do you promise to love,
honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others while holding only unto him forevermore?"
(I do")
REPEATED VOWS
(If rings are exchanged each does so and repeats the following vows - unless you have your own vows
or do not wish to repeat vows. It is not required that a couple exchange rings.) I _____________, take thee, ________________ to be my Wife.
Wear this ring as a pledge of my fidelity and everlasting love. I _____________, take thee, ________________ to be my Husband.
Wear this ring as a pledge of my fidelity and everlasting love.
____________________________ and ___________________________ as the two of you come into this marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for one another, I would ask that you forever remember to cherish each other as special and unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage strengthened by your love and respect for each other.
Just as two threads woven in opposite directions will form a most beautiful tapestry, so too can your two lives merged together make a beautiful marriage. To make your relationship work will take love. This is the core of your marriage and why you are here today. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want the best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open to one another - and to learn and grow together. It will take faith, to go forward together without knowing exactly what the future brings. And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both pledge today to share together.
Pronouncement of couple as Husband and Wife
Marriage Poems
Marriage Joins Two People In The Circle Of Its Love
by Edmund O'Neill
Marriage is a commitment to life,
the best that two people can find and bring out in each other.
It offers opportunities for sharing and growth
that no other relationship can equal.
It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.
Within the circle of its love,
marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships.
To Be One With Each Other
by George Eliot
What greater thing is there for two human souls
than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen
each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow,
to share with each other in all gladness,
to be one with each other in the
silent unspoken memories?
Today I Married My Best Friend
by Rachel Elizabeth Cooper
Today I married my best friend,
Our bond complete, it hath no end,
We share one soul, we share one heart,
A perfect time - a perfect start.
With these rings we share together,
Love so close to last forever,
This special day - two special hearts,
Let nothing keep this love apart.
Marriage Advice
by Jane Wells
Let your love be stronger than your hate and anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise,
for it is better to bend a little than to break.
Believe the best rather than the worst.
People have a way of living up or down
to your opinion of them.
Remember that true friendship
is the basis for any lasting relationship.
The person you choose to marry
is deserving of the courtesies
and kindnesses you bestow on your friends.
Please hand this down to your children and
your children's children.
I Promise
by Dorothy R. Colgan
I promise to give you the best of myself
and to ask of you no more than you can give.
I promise to respect you as your own person
and to realize that your interests, desires and needs
are no less important than my own. I promise to share with you my time and my attention
and to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship.
I promise to keep myself open to you,
to let you see through the window of my world
into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams. I promise to grow along with you,
to be willing to face changes in order to keep
our relationship alive and exciting.
I promise to love you in good times and bad,
with all I have to give and all I feel inside
in the only way I know how,
completely and forever.
Become an Ordained Minister
The New Universal Church invites you to learn about our ordination process
An ordained minister of the New Universal Church is an interfaith minister accepting all positive spiritual paths and traditions. The NUC minister makes no judgments against any valid churches, denominations, faiths, or traditions that accept the rights of every individual to a personal relationship with their spirituality.
The New Universal Church does not believe that mere tolerance is enough. We ask that our ministers practice joyful acceptance of all other lifestyles and spiritualities.
As a NUC minister you will have the responsibility and legal right to perform all services of the church. This includes spiritual counseling, healing work, readings, performing weddings, baptisms, funeral services, and other traditional religious roles.
There are several different titles that are available to NUC ministers including: Interfaith Minister, Healing Minister, Gnostic Minister, Priest, Shaman, Chaplain, High Priest, High Priestess, and Esoteric Minister.
All of these titles enable you to legally perform weddings, funerals, baptisms and offer pastoral counseling, including intuitive readings. You may legally attach Reverend, Pastor, Chaplain, etc. to your name, and accept money for your services.
There is no question that the spiritual consciousness of people, in general, is changing. People are seeking more results from their spirituality and less of the dogma that has been utilized for centuries to dominate and oppress people. With these changes comes the need for more ministers to help with the healing and teaching.
A very important role of any minister is to officiate marriage ceremonies. Today there are many different types of these ceremonies. The best ceremony is often the one that includes personal vows. For more training and copies of different ceremonies please check out 
Marriage Package.
Below is a ceremony that may be altered to fit most circumstances.
Marriage Ceremonies
We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall join_______________________ and ____________________________ in marriage.
Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage,
they must speak now or forever hold their peace.
____________________and _______________________ , I would ask that you always treat yourself and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together today. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage - as they do to every relationship at one time or another - focus on what still seems right between you, not only the part that seems wrong. This way, when clouds of trouble hide the sun in your lives and you lose sight of it for a moment, you can remember that the sun is still there. And if each of you will take responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and happiness.
VOWS
(use these vows or write your own.)
________________, do you take _______________ to be your Wife? Do you promise to love,
honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others while holding only unto her forevermore?
("I do")
(________________, do you take __________________ to be your Husband? Do you promise to love,
honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others while holding only unto him forevermore?"
(I do")
REPEATED VOWS
(If rings are exchanged each does so and repeats the following vows - unless you have your own vows
or do not wish to repeat vows. It is not required that a couple exchange rings.) I _____________, take thee, ________________ to be my Wife.
Wear this ring as a pledge of my fidelity and everlasting love. I _____________, take thee, ________________ to be my Husband.
Wear this ring as a pledge of my fidelity and everlasting love.
____________________________ and ___________________________ as the two of you come into this marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for one another, I would ask that you forever remember to cherish each other as special and unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage strengthened by your love and respect for each other.
Just as two threads woven in opposite directions will form a most beautiful tapestry, so too can your two lives merged together make a beautiful marriage. To make your relationship work will take love. This is the core of your marriage and why you are here today. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want the best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open to one another - and to learn and grow together. It will take faith, to go forward together without knowing exactly what the future brings. And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both pledge today to share together.
Pronouncement of couple as Husband and Wife
Marriage Poems
Marriage Joins Two People In The Circle Of Its Love
by Edmund O'Neill
Marriage is a commitment to life,
the best that two people can find and bring out in each other.
It offers opportunities for sharing and growth
that no other relationship can equal.
It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.
Within the circle of its love,
marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships.
To Be One With Each Other
by George Eliot
What greater thing is there for two human souls
than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen
each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow,
to share with each other in all gladness,
to be one with each other in the
silent unspoken memories?
Today I Married My Best Friend
by Rachel Elizabeth Cooper
Today I married my best friend,
Our bond complete, it hath no end,
We share one soul, we share one heart,
A perfect time - a perfect start.
With these rings we share together,
Love so close to last forever,
This special day - two special hearts,
Let nothing keep this love apart.
Marriage Advice
by Jane Wells
Let your love be stronger than your hate and anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise,
for it is better to bend a little than to break.
Believe the best rather than the worst.
People have a way of living up or down
to your opinion of them.
Remember that true friendship
is the basis for any lasting relationship.
The person you choose to marry
is deserving of the courtesies
and kindnesses you bestow on your friends.
Please hand this down to your children and
your children's children.
I Promise
by Dorothy R. Colgan
I promise to give you the best of myself
and to ask of you no more than you can give.
I promise to respect you as your own person
and to realize that your interests, desires and needs
are no less important than my own. I promise to share with you my time and my attention
and to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship.
I promise to keep myself open to you,
to let you see through the window of my world
into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams. I promise to grow along with you,
to be willing to face changes in order to keep
our relationship alive and exciting.
I promise to love you in good times and bad,
with all I have to give and all I feel inside
in the only way I know how,
completely and forever.
How do I become ordained by the New Universal Church?
We follow no oppressive dogma at the New Universal Church. Please read our Statement of Beliefs. If this makes sense to you, then we offer you the opportunity to become ordained by the NUC.
We have very simple guidelines we expect our ministers to follow.
