Renewal of Marriage Liturgy

Below is a simple liturgy that we will be using in our services on February 3^rd at Malmesbury Abbey as our services focus on the renewal and strengthening of our marriages. Our teaching will be drawn from 1 Peter 3 and Matthew 5:1-10 and will be available online the following week at www.malmesburyabbey.com.

Naturally not everybody is married in our community, and for some February 3rd may be difficult as they long for marriage or mourn the loss of a life partner. But each of us, of every generation in our church and our community, is affected by the quality and resilience of the marriages around us, so we have chosen to address the issue as a church just as St Peter chose to in his letter.

This liturgy replaces our prayers, and during it, apart from a final prayer, all will be invited to pray, either saying the liturgy for their own marriages or saying it on behalf of others known to them who are married or living together. Could I particularly encourage married couples to prayerfully read these words together as a preparation for Sunday. God bless.

A Liturgy for

the Renewal of Marriage

Blessed are you, heavenly Father.

You give joy to wife and husband,

You are the source of love.

Blessed are you, Lord Jesus Christ.

You bring new life to humanity,

You are our salvation.

Blessed are you, Holy Spirit of God.

You are our comfort,

You lead us in the most excellent way.

Blessed be Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

One God, to be praised

now and for ever.  Amen.

Living God,

pour out your Spirit

that we may be forgiven in our sin,

strengthened in our weakness

and renewed in our commitment.

Silence is kept

For hardness of heart

and a spirit of criticism

Lord forgive us and heal us

For the failure to make peace

and walk in the way of forgiveness

Lord forgive us and heal us

For taking our love

and our lover for granted

Lord forgive us and heal us

For being led astray by

the attractions and affections of others

Lord forgive us and heal us

For relentless over-busyness and

living with work and diary as king

Lord forgive us and heal us

For absence and separation

for aggression and indifference

Lord forgive us and heal us

For pride and selfcentredness,

unkindness and vanity

Lord forgive us and heal us

For vows forgotten

and covenants broken

Lord forgive us and heal us

May God who loved the world so much

that he sent his Son to be our Saviour

forgive you your sins

and make you holy to serve him in the world,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

In each day and moment,

every time and season

Renew us in our love

In each place of work and labour,

rest and worship

Renew us in our love

In times of friendship and family,

in tenderness and intimacy

Renew us in our love

In times of plenty

and in times of struggle

Renew us in our love

In youth, middle age

and in our final years together

Renew us in our love

Bring us at the last
to that great marriage banquet of your Son in our home in heaven,
where, with all your saints and angels,
in the glory of your presence,
we will for ever praise you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen. 

Married couples pray together

Heavenly Father,
we offer you our souls and bodies,
our thoughts and words and deeds,
our love for one another.
Unite our wills in your will,
that we may grow together
in love and peace
all the days of our life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

God the Holy Trinity make you strong in faith and love,
defend you on every side, and guide you in truth and peace;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. 

Amen.

  

Liturgy: Common Worship & Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. February 2013