A Marriage Blessing
Our prayer for your marriage bond finds inspiration from the majestic (gum) trees – the old folk of God’s kingdom.
May your journey’s beginnings be anchored like those massive roots
that have wound their way down through ancient layers of earth.
spreading wide and deep, searching out nourishment.
Weaving out their ordained foundation.
May you both grow a deep connection;
Searching to enrich your relationship, soaking in the wisdom of the ages.
And as the sapling stem grows, stretching and towering towards the light,
Twisting and thickening – strong against the harsh (Australian) elements;
May your bond protect one another through the weathering years.
And when the times do tire and test, may you know what must be let loose – to preserve what is precious.
Like the stripping bark and branches sacrificed in drought.
Out of a maturing trust, may your daily activities reach out like the branches
bent and shapen by time and season, fire and rain.
Branches that give shelter. Serving those around.
A home for some and a rest for many.
Limbs tattooed with scribbles and scrapes of life shared, life bared.
Strong arms from which to launch and find flight.
May deepening relationships be the bloom of this giving and sharing.
Leaf and blossom. Inviting and enriching, shading, swaying, dancing, healing, blushing and rusting.
And may your union – where you both have searched, shared and grown,
Leave the earth with gifts for future generations.
Like husks, leaves, twigs, nuts and bark fallen to the bed below.
Sewing back into what has been given and what will come.
By Emma Morgan for Matt and Ros Jones.
A prayer in the bush
From Corrie’s Baptism in the Yarra at Warrandyte.
Feel the earth beneath your feet, linking you to the past, standing where others have stood before you.
listen to creation breathe.
Take a long and loving look at what is real.
The reign of God’s love grows, even today.
Like a tiny seed beneath our feet, His kingdom is taking root in lives that are open and waiting.
As the yarra flows, and the rains come, we invite your spirit Lord to water our faith, to grow it today and every day.
Smell the fragrance of the bush.
Like the wind in the gum leaves, fresh on our face, we know you are here this morning and we honour you, we welcome you, Creator God.
A gentle hope is on the breeze, excitement and joy is taking flight.
May we grow strong together like a deep bushland, giving life, identity, home and shelter, food, healing and peace to life around us. In the name of Jesus, our brother and our Leader, walking with us.
Ideas from http://www.yarrahealing.catholic.edu.au/celebrations/index.cfm?loadref=61
