Wedding reading
Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)
Fiona Macleod (William Sharp)
“Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)” by Fiona Macleod (William Sharp) is a blessing read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 25 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
Deep peace of the running wave to you, Deep peace of the flowing air to you, Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, Deep peace of the sleeping stones to you! Deep peace of the Yellow Shepherd to you, Deep peace of the Wandering Shepherdess to you, Deep peace of the Flock of Stars to you.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Barely religious, deeply calming. The real Gaelic-revival poem, not the choral version.
Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: Celtic · peace · the running wave · quiet close · very short · nature.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)” take to read aloud?
“Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)” takes about 25 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)” runs about 25 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)15 secondsKing James Bible
- May the Road Rise Up to Meet You20 secondsTraditional Irish
- Sheva Brachot — the Seven Blessings5 minutesTraditional, Hebrew
- A Closing, with no prayer30 secondsOfficiantScript
- Apache Wedding Blessing40 secondsTraditional, widely anthologised
- Romans 12:9–18a minute and a halfKing James Bible