|
|
 |
The
Wedding of
Maria
Soledad Fernandez &
Damian
Fernandez Perez
Saturday
May 26, 2001,
6:00p.m.
The
Common Room, 70 Mill St., Toronto Canada
|
|
Procession
|
Ilene
Cummings, Chaplain signals the beginning of the Service by
taking her place at the wedding site at the front of the room
or wherever designated. The groom, Damian Fernandez
and Best Man, Alexei Guevera enter from the side and
take their position stage left of the chaplain. The
guests rise as the bride, Sole, Julie and their father process
in. Sole takes her position beside Damian and Julie
stage right of Chaplain, Pepe and the guests are invited
to sit. |
Words
of
Welcome
|
CHAPLAIN:
Good evening and welcome to this celebration of the marriage
of Maria Soledad Fernandez and Damian Fernandez Perez.
Sole and Damian are delighted that you, who are close to their
hearts and are an important part of their circle of care and
love are here this evening to be a part of this gathered community.
My
name is Ilene Cummings and I am a chaplain with the
First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto and I am honoured
to be officiating at this service of love and commitment.
|
Opening
Words
|
Welcome,
to all of you who have gathered today to share in this ceremony
with Sole and Damian. The words which will be spoken
here today are sacred, although these words are not what joins
these two. Indeed, it is not I who is joining these
two today at all, nor is it this ceremony. We are not here
to mark the start of a relationship; we are here to recognize
a bond that already exists. Sole and Damian have joined themselves
together, and we have gathered so that they might bear witness
before us of the oneness that has grown up between them.
Here, they will affirm this oneness and this dedication formally
and publicly, as they have already affirmed it to each other.
As they now exist as one in their own eyes; so may they exist
in yours. This union has already occurred in the giving and
receiving of their love, and in the myriad ways in which they
have entwined their lives together. We are here to witness
their statement of love and commitment.
This
is an act as ancient as the human race, and as new as each
morning, for it speaks of the past and of the future, of
the life of the individual and the existence of the community.
Marriage
is a going forth, a giving up of one way in search of a
greater fulfillment than either can achieve alone, risking
what they are for what they might be. Damian and Sole come
now to declare their love and solemnize their commitment.
Today we celebrate their faith in the continuance of that
growth as they come to be united in marriage
|
Prayer
of
Thanksgiving
|
Let
us join in the spirit of prayer and meditation:
Loving
and Gracious God, we are thankful for your presence in our
lives, in our relationships, in the beauty of nature and
in the love that moves through and between us. We
are grateful for the safe arrival of family and friends
to this place.
At
this time we also want to bring to our minds and hearts
those people who are not here to share in this celebration--family
and friend unable to attend, and those departed from us.
This evening we especially remember Damian’s family and
friends in Cuba — his parents Miriam and Navarro, Abuela
Maria, Tio Alvaro, and brother Raul. We also remember
Abuelita Melita in Puerto Montt and the “the Tatas”: Alfredo,
Pepe and Abuelo Alvaro. May their presence in
spirit be strong among us today. We would also like
to lovingly welcome those who have come from so far away
and with much effort to share in this special occasion.
Amen
|
Recognition
of
Gathered
Company
|
Each
of you present here this evening has been invited because
you are a special person in the lives of Sole and Damian.
You have come to rejoice with them; to hear their vows, their
hopes, their plans... to extend good wishes and to be reminded
of the loves and commitments that are a part of your own lives.
Will you, therefore, do all in your power to uphold
these two in the marriage they are about to undertake?
Reply:
We will.
|
Affirmation
of
Intentions
|
Sole
and Damian, you have invited us to witness the happiness you
have found in each other. Are you ready to reaffirm
the pledges through which you commit yourselves to each other
in love?
Sole
and Damian: We are.
|
Charge
to the
Couple
|
Your
task is to talk, to listen and to grow;
To
listen because what the other has to say matters deeply;
To
talk, because one must share of oneself to communicate with
the other;
To
grow in dignity, each following along the paths that are his
or her own to follow,
becoming
all that each is capable of becoming, while giving the other
supporting love.
To
grow in love; this is the crown of marriage, to grow in the
love of life, the love of growth, and the love of becoming;
the love which gives courage, which does not cling, but bestows
freedom, which does not hold back, but makes bold for growth,
which stands fast in disappointment and sorrow, which endures
through frustration and pettiness, which seeks to keep the
relationship open; and which is confirmed by answering love.
You have set yourselves on this road, You have chosen to walk
it together; Thus you will make a marriage. |
|
Reading
|
Heriberto
Pages reads Hagamos
Un Trato (Mario Benedetti) |
Wine
Cup
Ceremony
|
Damian
and Sole will now participate in the wine cup ceremony.
The
years of life are as a cup of wine, poured out for you to
drink. The cup contains within it the sweet wine of happiness,
joy, hope and delight. The same cup, at times, holds the
bitter wine of disappointment, sorrow, grief and despair.
Those who drink deeply of life invite the full range of
experiences. This cup is symbolic of the pledges you have
made to one another to share together the fullness of life.
As you drink from this cup you acknowledge to one another
that your lives, until this moment separate, have become
one vessel into which all your sorrows and joys, all your
hopes and fears, all your dreams and dreads will be poured,
and from which you will find mutual sustenance. Many days
you will sit at the same table and eat and drink together.
Drink now, and may the cup of your life together be sweet
and full to overflowing.
(Damian
first offers the cup to Sole and she drinks. Then
Sole offers cup to Damian and he does as well.)
|
|
Betrothal
|
Sole,
do you take Damian, to be your husband through all of the
days of your life, to love him and to cherish him, to help
him and to honour him, and to give him understanding
and comfort in whatever the future may bring in confidence
that together you are responsible for your destiny.
Sole:
I do.
Damian,
, do you take Sole, to be your wife through all of the days
of your life, to love her and to cherish her, to help her
and to honour her, and to give her understanding and
comfort in whatever the future may bring in confidence that
together you are responsible for your destiny.
Damian:
I do
|
Exchange
of
Vows
|
Sole,
will you repeat after me:
I
Sole, take thee Damian, to be no other than yourself. Loving
what I know of you trusting what I do not yet know with
respect for your integrity and faith in your abiding love
for me through all our years and in all that life may bring
us.
Damian,
will you repeat your vow to Sole?
Yo
Damián, te pido a ti Sole, ser nada mas de lo que
eres. Queriendo lo que conozco de ti, y confiado en
lo que me queda por conocer, con respeto por tu integridad,
y fe en el amor que nos tenemos, y en todo lo que
la vida nos entregue.
|
Ring
Ceremony
|
CHAPLAIN:
After these words about the symbolism of rings, Sole and Damian
will exchange their rings. (Julie Fernandez and Alexei Guevera
place the rings on the chaplain’s binder.)
The
circle of the ring speaks of love freely given: it has no
beginning and it has no end. The circle of the ring
declares the unity and oneness of your two lives, which
shall contain your devotion beyond every journey that you
may always return again to your togetherness.
Damian,
please place your ring on Sole’s finger with the following
words:
Damian:
Sole, te entrego este anillo para que lo lleves en tu
dedo
como símbolo de nuestro amor y unión..
And
now Sole, please place your ring on Damian’s finger with
the following words:
Sole:
Damian, I offer this ring to wear upon your hand as a symbol
of our love and unity.
|
Signing
of
the
Registry
|
CHAPLAIN:
Will you now please sign the registry? (Musical interlude
possibly with Gabrielle Kemeny[Chello] & Marcelo Puente
[Guitar] as Damian and Sole, accompanied by the Best
man and Matron of Honour (as witnesses) sign the register..) |
|
Pronouncement
|
No
single event marks a marriage. A marriage is the freely
chosen union of two individuals. It is both culmination
and commencement of a lifetime of love. Through the
statement of common spirit and the exchange of rings, you
have done what in truth neither state nor church can do: you
have joined yourselves in a shared destiny.
Inasmuch
as Soleand Damianhave grown in knowledge and love of one
another, seeking an even richer, deeper relationship, and
because they have pledged to meet sorrow and joy as one
family, we rejoice to recognize them as husband and wife.
You
may seal your union with a kiss.
|
|
Benediction
|
And now,
with a perfect and abiding confidence, with a trust and affection
which knows no limitation, we send you forth upon your journey
of life to laugh for joy, to suffer pain, to seek, to serve,
to find. So be it. |
|
Closing
Prayer
|
Will
you all please join me in the spirit of prayer as I give the
final blessing It is a traditional Apache blessing, which
expresses the best wishes we all share for Sole and Damian.
May
the sun bring you new energy by day;
May
the moon softly restore you by night;
May
the rain wash away your worries
And
the breezes blow new strength into your being,
And
all the days of your life may you walk gently through the
world and know its beauty.
Now
you can feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for
the other.
Now
there will be no more loneliness,
Now
you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
Go
now to your dwelling to enter into the days of your life
together,
And
may your days be good and long upon the earth.
Amen
|
And
now it is my pleasure and privilege to introduce
Sole
and Damian Fernandez,
partners
in love and life
|
|
 |
|
