Loving One Another

What an exciting time we had at St. George-in-the-Pines on Saturday last. It was a wedding. The groom, my son Christopher, was there early along with his four groomsmen including his brother and best man, Adam. 

We waited a bit for the arrival of the bride, Leann. She was delayed because of many little things, like the photographer who discovered she'd left her camera battery at home. And the bridesmaid who discovered she’d brought only one shoe.

My nephew Ryan misread the instructions to buy 4 2 litre bottles of ginger ale cola and instead brought 42 bottles of pop! 

But you know what? Despite the things that went wrong, everyone agreed it was a brilliant wedding and reception. They said it was a great coming together of two families. The atmosphere was positive, warm, loving, and kind and filled with laughter and tears of joy. What a great start to married life. 

Earlier the couple attended marriage preparation classes—a combination of on-line marriage prep and the Alpha course led by Rev Seth. Christopher and Leann both enjoyed the course and it made them want to further explore Christian faith. 

Marriage preparation, which includes Alpha, fulfills our vision to “grow in faith, live out God’s purpose for us, make Christ known in the world, and raise up the next generation to love and serve the Lord.” This declaration focuses our attention, our lives, our conduct, and our thinking on love (see 1 Corinthians 13 and John 13, 14). Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another.”

My time and space here are limited, so please watch for my pastoral letter, coming to you soon in the mail.

Yours in Christ,

Howard