Friday, August 4, 2023, 6:00 PM, Flat Rock, NC
It is fantastic for our senses to behold the wonder and beauty of creation! We are gathered from all four corners of this land and perhaps the world to be together like the diversity of all creatures bright and beautiful exist in this place. This biodiversity reflects the variety of humankind that enriches the world in harmony and peace. And the love that Cara and Zach have for each other adds to the making of a world worth living for.
The power in the love that Cara and Zach have for each other is the reason why all of us are here today. Cara’s family didn’t know Zach’s until they met; neither did Zach’s family know Cara’s until they met. The power of love is able to lead us to cross oceans, fly over 30,000 feet, travel over hundreds of miles, and converge to Flat Rock, North Carolina. Love brings people from different racial, cultural, and historical backgrounds to be together when the world is often fractured and separated. Love has a way that convinces us that there’s “no mountain too high or a valley too low” that keeps Cara and Zach from being together.
Cara and Zach share life that is filled with play seen in competitive board games, caring evident in their love for children, attention in their creative professions, in peace and justice in their compassion for the least of these. These virtues will grow even more as they unify these gifts to make a difference in the world.
This weekend, we will be witnessing in a formal way, love made visible in the marriage of Cara and Zach. When you will be making promises and commitments to each other, all of us who have made promises and commitments to significant others will be renewing our vows as well. It’s like the wonder and beauty of creation. Your marriage is nothing less than miraculous because you two will be making something new. To that end, we honor this time that we have to spend together.
On behalf of Cara and Zach, they are grateful that you have come to celebrate their love and their life together.
For these reasons, we give thanks.
Zach and Cara have requested that we hold hands to symbolize the loving community that we are.
Let us pray. Creator God, as creation reveals balance and sustainability, we celebrate the love that Cara and Zach have for each other that brings balance and harmony in their life together. Sustain them just as you sustain all the systems of the natural order to have animals roam the earth, birds to be up in the air, fish to be in ocean depths, mighty trees to grant shade, and the numerous creatures that continue to produce soil to grow our food.
We are grateful for the time we have this weekend to remember old memories as well as to create new ones, to celebrate and witness the bonds of marriage to share life together, to trust that every new morning is another opportunity to make a difference.
Spirit God, breathe life-renewing joy and hope in us as family and friends. May this beloved community continue to support Cara and Zach in the days and years ahead. Now, we seek your blessings on this evening we are about to enjoy. May our time together be a blessing to face each day with the promise of love and peace. Amen.