Friends, we are gathered here in the midst of a divided and broken world, to witness the marriage of these two people who stand before you in love, in trust and in hope. They ask God to bless their coming together and to sustain them through the years to come. And they ask us to be present with them, to rejoice in their oneness and to share in their joy. They hope that we will sustain them and participate with them in daily celebrations of the healing and renewing power of love to which God calls all of his children.