Update June 26, 2015: This prayer was written in 2013 when the Supreme Court of the United States made a turning point ruling that the core provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal law enacted in 1996, are unconstitutional. Today's ruling by the Supreme Court goes further legalizing gay marriage throughout the land. The ruling was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy. This is the closing paragraph.

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."
- Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, June 26, 2015

As people of God, who believe that all people are created in God's image, and all love reflects God's love, we rejoice with our gay brothers and sisters in the United States.

And so we pray this news . . .

Great God of inclusivity and diversity,
we give thanks to all those who
fought so long and so hard
for equal rights for same-sex
married couples.

We honor those gay and lesbian
couples who have showed us the way
of true love and commitment and
who have chosen marriage as an
expression of their love.

We rejoice that so many others
may follow in that same path
of love.

Love is the only thing that matters
and those whose love has been denied
and denounced are now free to savor
the marital journey which can last a lifetime.

Love is the only thing that counts
as two become one, in the mystery
sparked by grace and sustained by
creative collaboration.

Love is the only thing that sustains
as couples join the marital dance of life
learning new steps and moves
along the way.

Love is the only thing that makes sense
in the face of so many burdens piled on our backs
as we turn to each other for support and
the caring connection that lifts our spirits.

Love is the only thing that makes a difference
as we mine the bonds of matrimony to
intensify our love for each other and
use this energy to mend the world.

All praise to the Great God
of inclusivity and diversity
and love.


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