1.Susan Merrie formed us (14) in a circle on the lawn and welcomed everyone and had them name themselves in terms of how they knew me and Christer. Followed by brief meditation.

2. Fran read:

THE ORIGINAL LORD'S PRAYER

O cosmic birther of all radiance and vibration!

Soften the ground of our being and carve out a space within us where your presence can abide and your love and light shine forever.

Fill us with your creativity so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of your mission.

Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share what each being needs to grow and flourish.

Let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with our desire.

Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us, as we release others from the entanglements of past mistakes.

Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our true purpose, but illuminate the opportunities of the present moment.

For you are the ground and the fruitful vision, the birthpower and fulfillment, as everything and everyone is gathered and made whole again.

3. (This is the story I wrote during the spiritual gathering we had in April. Val “performed” it in her wonderful storytelling way. )

Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who lived on earth in different corners of the world. Before they came to earth, they lived on the same star where they made a contract to meet when they knew the moment was right on earth to change the world. Many years passed on earth and they experienced so much life that they nearly forgot their promise. But one day, while the man and the woman were sleeping in their own corners of the world, the Star-Giver blessed them with a Star-kiss that helped them remember their soul contract. In his dream the man saw a beacon of light from the high Andes Mountains in Peru . He packed his bags and journeyed to a small town along the river in the Sacred Valley not knowing that the woman would be there. But because she too had been kissed by the Star-Giver, she remembered her promise and was waiting for his arrival. When they saw each other, their hands touched and their hearts remembered everything.

 And so began their challenge to change the world.

  The first world they need to change was their own because they had become very set in their own earthly ways and each had their own manner of managing their lives. His corner of the world was urban, neat and orderly. Her corner was mountainous, mystical and a bit chaotic. They had to adapt, release, heal and transform in order to see the other with eyes of love.

  Then they gathered together with friends who had traveled from near and far to help them envision a new world. They sat around the fire and dreamed their world into being by removing their heads and placing them on their hearts. It was then that the Star-Giver again came down from heaven and opened their hearts to envision a world where people lived in Trust instead of the fear they'd always known. They envisioned a world where everyone was valued and supported, where they shared and contributed and made decisions by consensus. Together the group envisioned that the place they were in by the Sacred River would be the Heartquarters for their United Vision to grow and manifest.

  Because the man and the woman had learned how to come together in the balanced union of Love and Light, they reflected the perfect union of male and female in the divine creator. They were able to experience heaven on earth and they lived happily ever after.

4. Christer and I moved into the center of the circle

(Karen read :)
HAFIZ poem

this place where you are right now

this place where you are right now

god circled on a map for you.

wherever your eyes and arms and heart can stretch

against the earth and sky

the beloved has bowed there.

our beloved has bowed there

knowing you were coming.

4. SM lined our VOWS (Repeat after me…)

“I, Diane , choose you, Christer to be my husband,

to love and give you my respect,

to keep you in sickness and in health,

to share my life openly with you,

to speak truthfully and lovingly with you,

to accept you fully as you are and delight in who you are becoming,

to respect your uniqueness,

encourage your fulfillment,

and compassionately support you through all the changes of our years together,

so long as love and life shall endure.”

“I, Christer , choose you, Diane to be my wife,

to love and give you my respect,

to keep you in sickness and in health,

to share my life openly with you,

to speak truthfully and lovingly with you,

to accept you fully as you are and delight in who you are becoming,

to respect your uniqueness,

encourage your fulfillment,

and compassionately support you through all the changes of our years together,

so long as love and life shall endure.”

5. SM 

Blessing of the rings

Let us bless these rings

Symbols of wholeness, of integrity

Of process, of movement

Of relationship

Of cycles of the Seasons,

Of the Dance of Life

" With this ring, I thee wed"

May these rings remind you each that you have opened the sphere of your life to embrace each other

And may they be a sign to others of your deep and abiding commitment to one another

  

6. SM invited everyone to go around the circle and say one word as a blessing to us

Some I remember were: peace, love, joy, health, fun, passion, enjoyment, happiness

SM closed the Blessing of the Union

 

We invoke the blessing of the Source

The ground of all being and becoming

The Holy Mystery of Life

As each green thing is rooted in the ground,

May this relationship be deeply rooted

 in the body, the mind, and the soul

 of each of these two lovers who are joining their lives today

As each green thing sprouts and branches out

May this alliance reach out to others

gathering a rich community around it

As each green thing flowers

May this relationship allow the respective talents and desires

of both partners to blossom and grow

As each green thing bears fruit

May this union bear new creations

 into abundance

As each green thing produces seeds

May their love and devotion

bring forth ever new discoveries in each other

and may this marriage be a source

of strength, compassion, and inspiration

for ever widening circles of community, family, and friends.

 

 

Then we ate lobster, drank champagne, laughed a lot and had lots of fun!