~ PERCEPTION OF A DREAM COME TRUE ~ 

OUR WEDDING

THINK NOT THAT YOU CAN GUIDE THE COURSE OF LOVE ~ 
FOR LOVE, IF IT FINDS YOU WORTHY, SHALL GUIDE YOUR 
COURSE ~ And so it is ~

On this beautiful day, May 5, 1995, we are gathered 
together in the delight and presence of God to celebrate 
the wedding of Gerald Hervey Carpenter and Carole 
Janette Gellatly.

We have come together to do all those things appropriate 
for such an occasion.  To say solemn words, to confirm a 
covenant; To praise God and the holy spirit of this life; To 
celebrate with friends.   Above all, to rejoice in love and 
its possibilities.

Carole and Jerry, you stand here together to make your 
vows.  You have known each other for four years, through 
the first glance of acquaintance to this moment of 
commitment.

For some time now, you have been making promises and 
agreements in an informal way.  All those walks ~ all 
those sentences that began with "When we're married" and 
continued with "I will and you will and we will" ~ those 
late-night talks that included unspoken matters of the 
heart.  All these common things, and more, are the real 
process of  wedding.    

The symbolic vows you are about to make are a way of 
saying to one another, "You know all those things 
we've promised and hoped and dreamed ~ well, I meant 
it all, every word."

Take each other's hands now and face one another to 
make your vows.  Look at one another  ~ remember 
this moment in time.  

Before this moment you have been many things to one 
another ~ acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, 
dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have 
learned much from one another in these last four years.  
Now you shall say a few words that take you across a 
threshold of life, and things will never be quite the 
same between you.  For after these vows you shall say 
to the world ~ 

        This ..... is my husband.  This ..... is my wife.


        Gerald,  please thoughtfully repeat after me:

        I, Gerald,  do take you, Carole,
        To be the wife of my days ~ the companion of 
		    my home 
        The friend of my life and my eternal soul mate. 
        We shall bear together whatever trouble and sorrow 
		life may lay upon us 
        And we shall share together whatever good and 
		joyful things life may bring us. 
        With these words and all the words of my heart 
		I marry you and bind my life to yours.

        Carole,   please thoughtfully repeat after me:

        I, Carole,  do take you, Gerald,
        To be the husband of my days ~ the companion of 
		    my home
        The friend of my life and my eternal soul mate. 
        We shall bear together whatever trouble and sorrow 
		life may lay upon us 
        And we shall share together whatever good and 
		joyful things life may bring us. 
        With these words and all the words of my heart 
		I marry you and bind my life to yours.


May I have the rings,  please.

For several thousand years, men and women have
exchanged rings as a token of their wedding vows.  These 
simple gold bands are not of great value in and of 
themselves.  But what they stand for now and what they 
will come to mean over time is beyond price.  The great 
circle of life itself is symbolized in these small circles 
on your fingers.

        Gerald,  place this ring on Carole's finger 
		and repeat after me:

        Carole,  I place this ring on your finger ~ 
        as a seal on the covenant I have made with you.

        Carole,  place this ring on Gerald's finger and 
		repeat after me:

        Gerald,  I place this ring on your finger ~
        as a seal on the covenant I have made with you.


The warmth and glow of a candle sheds light for all the 
world to see ~ just as your love for each other shines so 
brightly.  It is a delicate flame, yet strong ~ continually 
lighting your way ~ your path with a heart ~ full of 
dreams and discovery, humor and fun, childlike  wonder, 
connection and contribution, passion and celebration, 
nurturing and creativity, recognition, trust and 
understanding.

May the beauty of these candles always reflect the beauty 
of the love you share together, and, may your continual 
lighting of candles bring back memories of this day and 
the vows you have made.

As long as you live, may you never be too busy to celebrate 
whatever great occasions come to your lives.  May you have 
many celebrations of love and life and continually light 
candles along your way.

Jerry and Carole, you will legalize your commitment to 
each other in the United States on July 15th.  Here, you 
have made vows, exchanged rings and shared in the lighting 
of candles proclaiming your love for each other before God 
and the entire world.  On behalf of the Russian Federation 
and the Church of the Archangel Michael in Moscow, Russia, 
what you desire has come to pass ~ I now pronounce you 
married.

Come ~ let us make a blessing and benediction.  
Let us pray together, silently.

If a wedding is supposed to be delightful, then we have 
achieved that and more.  The spirit of delight here 
is one blessing of many.

Another blessing is this circle of friends who have 
witnessed this wedding on behalf of the larger human 
community.

        More than this, Jerry and Carole, may God bless 
		and keep you; 
        May the sun of many days and years shine upon you; 
        May the love you have for one another grow 
		and hold you close; 
        May the good true light within you guide your way 
		on together;
        May your dreams come true, and when they don't, 
		may new dreams arise.
		
And long, long years from now, may you look at 
one another and be able to say, "Because of you, I have 
lived the life I always wanted to live ~ because of you, 
I have become the person I longed to be."
      
        God bless, God bless, God bless.

Let the festivities at Jerry and Carole's apartment begin!