Steve Stone is the Pastor of the Church of the Earth Of NC. He has done volunteer work as a Prison Chaplain and ministered to people in hospitals. He is active in charity work and has worked with the church to help weather damage victims repair their homes and clean up debris. He is active in nature conservation and spends several hours each day working with injured animals.
Steve Takes care of Gaia's Gardens, the sanctuary for the Church of the Earth. He is a practicing Jewish Kabballist, but has studied and taught different religions and philosophies since 1981. He was ordained as a Minister in the Universal Life Church in Dec. 1995 and as a Reverend By the Sanctuary of the Beloved of NY in Feb. 1998. He was given an honorary Doctorate of Divinity in Mar. 2001, and earned a Masters Degree In Religion in June 2001. He was ordained as a Priest following Biblical guidelines from Leviticus in August 2001. He practices as a Priest for local Earth Religions. As such, he does Handfasting/Wedding rituals, dedication rituals, funerals, and other personal rituals as requested. For more information on Steve, or if you have any questions or comments for Steve, please E-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Sample Handfasting/Wedding Ritual
This is a NC legal, and generally family acceptable, wedding and handfasting ceremony. Each couple modifies it somewhat for their own beliefs.
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony and to dedicate them to each other's happiness and well being as lifemates and partners.
Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?
Before we begin, {Bride} and {Groom} would like to pause and light a candle for those who were unable to attend or have gone on ahead.
Now, let us rise with an opening prayer.......
Blessed art thou, creator of all that is and all that shall ever be. We thank you for bringing us here for this joyous occassion and ask that you bless this union with happiness and love.
We look to the East,
To the direction which brings the morning, and all beginnings,
to the direction of air and of youth.
May youth give you energy and wonder.
We look to the South,
to the direction which represents growth and fulfillment.
The direction of fire and passion.
May passion direct your search for fulfillment.
We look to the West,
To the direction of wisdom and flowing,
The direction of water and emotions.
May emotion flow freely as you grow together.
We look to the North
To the direction of strength and knowledge,
The direction of Earth and reason.
May you gain strength and enlightenment from your union.
We look above us to the stars
We look Below us to the stones
May your love be as constant as the stars.
May your love be as firm as the stones.
And having looked to the four directions,
having looked above and below,
We look inside for the 7th direction
For the infinite is within you. Now and always.
Blessed be. Amen. (Be Seated)
(I ask the Best Man to hand me the bridal ring. I do a silent blessing over the ring and hand it to {groom} )
{Groom} , take this ring as a token of your love for {bride} . Place it on your bride's finger. Now, standing here before the creator and in the hearing of this assembly, repeat after me with all the love that fills your heart.
I {groom} .....Take Thee, {bride} , to be my wife.....my friend, my love, the mother of my children.....I will be yours in plenty and in want,..... in sickness and in health,.....in failure and in triumph..... I will cherish you and respect you,.....comfort you and encourage you,.....and together we shall live,.....free and bound by our love.
(I ask the Best Man to hand me the groom's ring. I do a silent blessing over the ring and hand it to {bride} )
{Bride} , take this ring as a token of your love for {groom} . Place it on his finger. Now, standing here before the creator and in the hearing of this assembly, repeat after me with all the love that fills your heart.
I {bride} ....Take Thee, {groom} , to be my husband.....my friend, my love, the father of my children.....I will be yours in plenty and in want,..... in sickness and in health,.....in failure and in triumph..... I will cherish you and respect you,.....comfort you and encourage you,.....and together we shall live,.....free and bound by our love.
As you now hold hands, I would like you to think about the deeper meaning of this ring ceremony. You are, in effect, saying to each other: I place my heart near yours, so that I may feel your joys, as well as your sorrows, and to respond to them. And just as the circles of your rings are never-ending , so may the love you share endure forever and ever.
I now ask the Matron of honor to bring forth the binding. {Bride} and {Groom} , as this cord binds your arms, so does your love bind your hearts. May your spirits be bound, your minds be common, and your bodies be one that none may come between you so long as your path is shared.
The Fruit of the vine is a symbol of joy and life. And so, with this chalice, we proclaim this day as a day of great joy and celebration, a day to remember, your day.
We Thank you, oh creator, for creating this fruit of the vine, and ask you to bless it even as you will bless this holy union, (Barooch ot-ah adonoi elohaynoo mellech hah-oh-laam bo ray pah-ree hah-ah-goffen) Amen
(Give cup to couple to hold)
As together you now drink from the chalice, so may you, under guidance of the creator, in perfect love and perfect trust , drink from the chalice of life and thereby may you find life's joy doubly gladdening, its bitterness sweetened, and all thingshallowed by time, companionship and love. Now drink..... And you.
Blessed creator, we ask that you bestow thy blessing upon {Bride} and {Groom} , as they unite their lives in thy name. Teach them to share life's joys and life's trials and to grow in understanding and devotion. Give them the wisdom so that each may be to the other:
a strength in times of need,
a counsellor in times of trouble,
a comfort in times of sorrow
a companion in times of joy,
May they grow old together in health and contentment. Amen
Will {bride's} 's parents please come forward..... (hold out one of the candles from the altar)
As your fires kindled the fire that is {bride} I ask you to light this candle and give it to {groom} as you give {bride} to him.
(after {bride}'s parents return to seats)
Will {groom's} 's parents please come forward..... (hold out one of the candles from the altar and bless it) Barooch ot-ah adonoi elohaynoo mellech hah-oh-laam Ah-share Kiddishanoo bamitvasov vitsee vah noo lahadlik nare shell nee-soo-eeye) As your fires kindled the fire that is {groom} I ask you to light this candle and give it to {bride} as you give {groom} to her.
(after {groom's}'s parents return to seats, lead {Bride} and {Groom} ,to the candlabra)
Now, with these candles, we can see how to achieve a beautiful marriage. In your marriage, you will try to bring these lights, the symbols of yourselves, closer and closer to each other, until they become (join flames & light 3rd candle) ONE. One great torch of light, a radiant symbol of love, joy, peace, and harmony. Let the fires within you intertwine and become a single source of light upon your path.
Yet it is vitally important to remember that there are always really two (divide the flames) in a marriage, each with his or her own desires, yearnings, dreams and wishes. And these must be respected and responded to with great love, with great compassion, and with genuine tenderness.
We know that it is the prayer of your beloved, as it is the prayer of each of us here, that you will continuously light these candles of love, so that there will always be light and joy, peace and harmony in your hearts and in your home. (put candles in candlabra)
It is in this spirit that I welcome you and greet you, and by the virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of The Creator, The Sanctuary of the Beloved and the State of North Carolina, I now pronounce you, {Bride} and {Groom} , to be husband and wife, before the Creator and all humanity. What Gods joined together let none come between.
(To couple) Please kiss.
(To Audience) Please rise for the benediction.
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will 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 one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place and enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the Earth.
(Matron of honor helps couple removed binding w/out untying it and Wedding party exits and minister closes circle behind them)
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