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FAITH IN ACTION
Significant wedding
anniversaries, 2010
Author: Richenda Power
Significant for our diocese was the second
annual Mass for couples celebrating
silver, golden, ruby and diamond weddings.
Bishop Crispian Hollis even announced the
presence of the Dupres, married 70 years, as
he welcomed all at St Bede's, Basingstoke, on
June 12th.
A local couple, Bob and Barbara Applin, met
through her work as an archaeologist. Bob
joined a team rescuing door knockers and
cast iron fireplaces from houses demolished
for the 1960s' development. Forty years on,
Bob, Anglican by background, agnostic by
nature, came forward for a blessing, as
Barbara took communion.
Significant for the Applins was the encouragement
to come to the altar together. For
some this meant consuming the Body of
Christ simultaneously.
Most of the 128 couples had travelled miles,
from the outer reaches of our diocese,
including the Channel Islands, bringing a
friend or relation with them.
Emmanuel and Nkem Virginia Ezekwe, from
Our Lady of Peace, Lower Earley, Reading,
explained that their married life began 25
years ago in St Mark's Catholic Church,
Agabana, Nigeria. Their professions are
engineering and secondary teaching respectively,
and they have five children.
Significant for all were the intercessions,
read by Cedric and Paddy Lark, from St
Anne's, Brockenhurst, married 50 years.
Many of us live alone, and may ponder
anniversaries which might have been. Wellwritten
prayers meant we did not feel
neglected.
Bishop Crispian acknowledged
that the couples in front of him
had probably had a harder job
than that of a celibate priest
like himself, addressing them:
'All of you who have borne the
heat of the day'.
You could sense all warmed to
him for this recognition.
Christine Field, from Corpus
Christi, Wokingham, said 'the
first ten years' of their half
century were the most
traumatic', as they'd lost their
first baby, and her husband Ian
had been ill. 'If you can survive
that, you can survive
anything', she claimed, adding:
'I married the right man!'
Being among so many enduring
relationships was a tangible
experience: each word of every
hymn and response was made
with gusto; the silences
between words and movement
were profound; couples renewed
their vows with visible delight.
Significant was a sense of the
wisdom of those gathered, the
middle to long aged of our society,
whose faith has weathered wars,
rationing, and earlier recessions. As
Bishop Crispian put it: 'You are not
private people or private couples,
but in the front line as witnesses of
the Gospel of love'.
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FEATURE
1) COMMUNION, with the Bishop and Fr Dominic
2) THE APPLINS
3) THE EZEKWES
4) RENEWAL OF COMMITMENT Jan and Martin McGanahan
(40 years) from St Colman's, Cosham
5) TIME FOR REFRESHMENTS
Bishop Crispian's Homily and many more photographs are available
on the diocesan website: www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
PORTSMOUTH PEOPLE
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