We celebrated our Silver Wedding at the end of September.
On the day itself we had a day out in Oxford – somewhere we always enjoy visiting. We found a nice restaurant on the river and had a lovely lunch. As we were leaving, we got talking to the owner and we said it was our silver wedding. And she said “Wow. That’s an amazing achievement. Not many people get that far nowadays.”
I was quite taken aback. I don’t think we regard it as an amazing achievement. We’ve not consciously worked at our marriage to make it last. It’s just happened. And it’s not as if it has all been smooth. It hasn’t but the support we get from each other has helped us both to cope with the things life throws at us.
For what it is worth, of our friends and family who have successful and long lasting marriages, most (though not all) are Christians. And I feel that is important. Bringing Christian values in to a marriage (love, forgiveness, compassion, hope to name but four) must all contribute to the success of the marriage. That’s not to say that all Christians who marry will have successful marriages, and it is possible to have a successful marriage of course that is not founded on the Christian faith. But it seems to me that a marriage founded on faith will be stronger for it. And will be able to withstand the storms of life better.
27 years ago we attended the wedding of friends (who are still married). One of the hymns they sang at the wedding was the Boys Brigade hymn “Will you anchor hold in the storms of life”. I remember one or two people saying at the time it was an odd choice for a wedding hymn but actually I think it is very good
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?
Refrain
We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.
Here’s to the next 25!
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Six degrees of separatoin
Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer. So for example, each of you reading this is connected in this way to Princess Diana. How?
Princess Diana met my uncle when he was working for the British Red Cross. I am related to my uncle and you have met me or at least read this. Therefore all of you are four steps from Princess Diana.
I mention this because the six degrees of separation idea means that we are often more closely connected to an event in the news than we might think.
I am sure that you like me were shocked by the recent riots. As you’ll remember the riots started in Tottenham. You will remember those awful pictures of the Carpetright store being burnt to the ground. Just around the corner from that shop stands St Marks Methodist Church. The minister of the church Revd Dr Valentin Dedji was very active in the community before the riots and since the rots he has been trying to bring some of Jesus’ peace and healing to bear.
We in this part of Swindon are now connected to St Mark’s. Of course on one level we are connected because it is a fellow Methodist Church and in Methodism we think of the Connexion. That is the links between all Methodist churches in the UK. But our link with St Marks is more than just through the Connexion. It is personal as well.
About 6 weeks ago a couple came to St Andrews on a Sunday morning. As it happened I was taking the service and I spoke to them afterwards. I found out that they were from London and I saw afterwards they were chatting to a couple of people from church.
But it was only after the riots that I found out that the church people the visitors had been talking to had remembered the visitos were from Tottenham. So Jean (from church - not her real name) wrote to them care of the church and soon received an email back.
We are all familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told this story having been asked by a lawyer who he (as a devote Jew) should regard as a neighbour. And the punch line was that to followers of Jesus all people are neighbours.
The world we live in today, a world of mass communication and frequent foreign travel, means that the question “Who is my neighbour?” takes on a whole new meaning. Now we are neighbours with people in Tottenham, we are neighbours with people in Salford, we are neighbours with people in Somalia. Regardless of six degrees of separation.
Princess Diana met my uncle when he was working for the British Red Cross. I am related to my uncle and you have met me or at least read this. Therefore all of you are four steps from Princess Diana.
I mention this because the six degrees of separation idea means that we are often more closely connected to an event in the news than we might think.
I am sure that you like me were shocked by the recent riots. As you’ll remember the riots started in Tottenham. You will remember those awful pictures of the Carpetright store being burnt to the ground. Just around the corner from that shop stands St Marks Methodist Church. The minister of the church Revd Dr Valentin Dedji was very active in the community before the riots and since the rots he has been trying to bring some of Jesus’ peace and healing to bear.
We in this part of Swindon are now connected to St Mark’s. Of course on one level we are connected because it is a fellow Methodist Church and in Methodism we think of the Connexion. That is the links between all Methodist churches in the UK. But our link with St Marks is more than just through the Connexion. It is personal as well.
About 6 weeks ago a couple came to St Andrews on a Sunday morning. As it happened I was taking the service and I spoke to them afterwards. I found out that they were from London and I saw afterwards they were chatting to a couple of people from church.
But it was only after the riots that I found out that the church people the visitors had been talking to had remembered the visitos were from Tottenham. So Jean (from church - not her real name) wrote to them care of the church and soon received an email back.
We are all familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told this story having been asked by a lawyer who he (as a devote Jew) should regard as a neighbour. And the punch line was that to followers of Jesus all people are neighbours.
The world we live in today, a world of mass communication and frequent foreign travel, means that the question “Who is my neighbour?” takes on a whole new meaning. Now we are neighbours with people in Tottenham, we are neighbours with people in Salford, we are neighbours with people in Somalia. Regardless of six degrees of separation.
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