Sister Abigail & Lacie’s Interfaith Wedding Ceremony

Sister Abigail Elizabeth Hester & Reverend Lacie Love Hester

On the bottom of this page on the right side you will find other pictures of our lovely and inspiring Interfaith wedding.

The below ceremony was written and performed by Colin Keller

I want to take this time to welcome everyone here to Lacie and Abigail’s wedding here at beautiful Deep Run Park, may this gazebo be a sanctuary for this wonderful occasion. But before we begin I need to talk a little about the wonderful Ministry they share together, Oasis Interfaith Ministry. This wedding ceremony is a tribute to our brides’ Creativity and Interfaith vision of a deep spiritual calling. They have woven together an interfaith vision for many different traditions out of love, respect, honor and dignity that represents whom they are together. Please consider a donation of clothing and/or food to the ministry they perform in the Metro Richmond area. Please join me now as we begin the wonderful blessing of this marriage, a unique partnership based on sharing, joy, learning and celebration.

Let us begin with a meditation on Love:

Love Changes Everything by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Love- love changes everything
Hands and faces earth and sky
Love- love changes everything
How you live and how you die
Love can make the summer fly
Or a night seem like a lifetime
Yes love- love changes everything
How I tremble at your name
Nothing in the world will ever be the same
Love- love changes everything
Days are longer words mean more
Love- love changes everything
Pain is deeper than before
Love will turn your world around
And that world will last forever
Yes love – love changes everything
Brings you glory brings you shame
Nothing in the world will ever be the same
Off into the world we go
Planning futures shaping years
Love bursts in and suddenly
All our wisdom disappears
Love makes fools of everyone
All the rules we make are broken
Yes love- love changes everything
Live or perish in its flame
Love will never never let you be the same
Love will never never let you be the same
Love changes everything:
Hands and faces earth and sky!

Abigail please repeat after me…….

You are my wife and I am yours
My feet shall run because of you
My feet will dance because of you
My heart shall beat because of you
My eyes shall see because of you
My mind shall think because of you
And I shall love, because of you.

Lacie please Repeat after me….

You are my wife and I am yours
My feet shall run because of you
My feet will dance because of you
My heart shall beat because of you
My eyes shall see because of you
My mind shall think because of you
And I shall love, because of you.

Aigail and Lacie will now share their wedding vows and exchange of rings…..

Vows and Ring exchange

These rings in their unbroken wholeness are tokens of your union and of your love. They represent the enduring trust and affection that you bring to one another, and are the outward and visible symbols of an inner spiritual bond.

Now please join Abagail and Lacie in their Water sharing Ritual
Abigail and Lacie will be joining waters from these two containers into one that will represent their journey together, just as all rivers flow to the sea, may their love blend and become one for as long as they shall live. As the shared water comes around please put your energies of longevity, companionship and peace into these waters.

Pause and contemplate while the water is passed aorund Dwayne will receive in the end and place next to him….

Now the Interfaith Handfasting

This Stole I wear wil now be blessed with a Sacred duty, may it bind the combined vision of Oasis Interfaith Ministry and Bind the love of you both forever and ever.

Stole wrapped around Abigail & Lacie Holding hands.

Apache Marriage Poem

Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there is no more loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling to enter into
the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good
and long upon the earth.

May you be generous and giving with each other.
May your sense of humor and playful spirit always continue to enliven your relationship.
May you always respect the diversity of humankind.
May you act with compassion to those less fortunate and with responsibility to the
communities of which you are a part.
May you appreciate and complement each other’s differences.
May you always share yourselves openly with your friends and family.
May your home be a haven of blessing and peace.

Blessed is she, creator of a universe splendid in its integrity.
Blessed is she, who art the source of all gladness and joy. Through you we attain affection,
companionship and peace.
May we all see the day when the world will echo with the sounds of feasting and singing. Praised is
love; blessed be this union
May this union be sealed with a Kiss…..

Do Not Be Put Off By The Failure Of The Church

“The Church is a whore, but she’s my mother.” – (attributed to Saint Augustine in Letters To A Young Evangelical)

The Gospel Can Not Only Be Rejected For Its Content But Also How It Is Delivered

“Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish existentialist, once said there are those who tell lies in such a way that you think they are telling you the truth.  He went on to suggest that far more dangerous are those who tell the truth in such a way that you think they are telling you a lie.  When the Gospel is presented with little regard to the sensitivities of others, it may readily be rejected not because of its content but because of how it has been delivered.”

As quoted by Tony Campolo in his book Letters To A Young Evangelical