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Wedding Vows |
| Minister: Reverend Rudolph Featherstone |
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| Brothers and Sisters we have come together to witness the joining together of this man and woman who have prayerfully decided to search for their Black religious tradition on this occasion. Black men and women of this society have been nearly stripped of their own culture and consequently, they are lacking in firm foundations. Through this ceremony this man and this woman desire to affirm that Black people are, were and shall always be strong and beautiful and truly children of God. Through this ceremony we shall proclaim the richness of Black culture so that the marriage of this couple might be placed on a firm foundation and so that their search for the new shall remain grounded in the tradition of our foreparents. The strength of our Black community depends in large part on the strength of our families. This man and this woman come now in the Christian tradition of solemnity under God to join in the building of a new family. May you in this sacred ceremony surrender yourselves to each other and to God. May you work and pray that your marriage be-come as strong and enduring as the pyramids of Egypt and as beautiful as the panthers of Kenya. My BROTHER, will you live with this my Sister under God's holy laws? Will you love her and care for her no matter what ill treatment you receive in this hostile society? Will you remain with her and be her source of strength as long as you both shall live? Phillip: I WILL. My SISTER, will you be with this my Brother, will you hold him as your fortress of strength? Will you love him and respect his manhood as long as you both shall live? Geri: I WILL. [Phillip holds Geri's right hand and repeats.] I take you Geri to be my wife, to love and respect for as long as I have life. I take you with your strengths and your weaknesses. I pledge to you all the love I possess with the faith that God will allow that love to grow and to develop. [Geri holds Phillip's right hand and repeats.] I take you Phillip to be my husband, to love and respect for as long as I have life. I take you with your strengths and your weaknesses. I pledge to you all the love I possess with the faith that God will allow that love to grow and to develop. Let us pray. Almighty and merciful father--whom our ancestors knew as 'NXANE and OLODUMARE-- we, your Black servants who have suffered so much and for so long, pause now before you to ask your blessings upon this gathered community. Bless, we pray, especially these two servants who have this day declared their love for you and for each other and who have declared by their union their fidelity to the Black community. Give them, we pray, strength to struggle that they might help to usher in the day when all the world will become a Black poem. In your holy name we pray. AMEN. [Phillip takes the ring and puts it on the tip of Geri's ring finger.] Phillip to Geri: With this ring I pledge myself and everything I possess to you Geri, in the name of the Father and the Son and of our Black Ancestors. AMEN. [Phillip slips the ring all the way down.] Featherstone: These two that God now makes one, let no man divide because Phillip and Geri have consented to live together in matrimony and said this before God and before you. I pronounce them husband and wife in the name of the Father and of our Black ancestors. AMEN. God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Thou who also art the God of the Bantu, God of the Zulu and God of the Ashanti, bless and keep this man and this woman. Let their love develop to the point where it can serve as joy even in sorrow. Let the strength that comes out of their unity be channeled into efforts for bringing their Brothers and Sisters to a level of power so that together they may worship and serve you in dignity and in peace. The lord bless you and keep you; the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you power, peace and prosperity, both now and forevermore. AMEN. You may salute your bride! |