Wedding reading
A Closing, with no prayer
OfficiantScript
“A Closing, with no prayer” by OfficiantScript is a blessing read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 30 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
Before you go — take a moment to look around this room at everybody in it. Every person here is here for the same reason. That is not nothing. Keep hold of each other after today, not just this week but in a month, and in a year, when it has gone quiet and people have stopped asking. Thank you for being here. Take care of each other on the way out.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Ours. Closes a service without a blessing, and gives the room a job.
Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: closing a secular service · no God mentioned · short · sending people out · humanist.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “A Closing, with no prayer” take to read aloud?
“A Closing, with no prayer” takes about 30 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 “A Closing, with no prayer”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “A Closing, with no prayer” runs about 30 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 “A Closing, with no prayer” 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
No source recorded.
Written by us, so there is nothing to check it against.
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
- Sheva Brachot — the Seven Blessings5 minutesTraditional, Hebrew
- The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)15 secondsKing James Bible
- May the Road Rise Up to Meet You20 secondsTraditional Irish
- Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)25 secondsFiona Macleod (William Sharp)
- Words of Committal — no religious framing30 secondsOfficiantScript
- Apache Wedding Blessing40 secondsTraditional, widely anthologised