The Marriage Services of the United Church of Canada: Stages on a Liturgical Journey

Abstract

The United Church of Canada orders for the Solemnization of Marriage provide a unique overview of the history of liturgy in the denomination. The two orders contained in the 1926 Forms of Service were an attempt to provide transitional services retaining the flavour of the uniting denominations. The marriage liturgy of the 1932 Book of Common Order represents the height-of the Prayer Book tradition — an attempt to recapture the' catholic' pattern of the marriage service in the western church. The draft orders of 1962 and 1965, culminating in the marriage liturgy of the 1969 Service Book4 and the 1975 'contemporary' revision, portray the ferment and confusion of the 1960s and 70s. The 1985 Celebration of Marriage for Optional Use ... represents the growing ecumenical convergence in worship patterns of which the United Church is a part. A sequential examination of these liturgies reveals the stages the United Church has travelled through on its liturgical journey: from denominational particularity through the search for a larger catholic tradition, the concern for relevance in a rapidly changing world, to the concern to be faithful to the tradition but in a contemporary way. In addition, the marriage service, perhaps more than any other liturgy, demonstrates the intricate interplay between societal understandings of what the church should be about and the traditions which have shaped the church's worship life.