A service
to celebrate marriage followed by a reception in the church hall was held on 28th
February. The initiative came from five married couples, two from the parish of
Our Lady and St Anne, Caversham and three from St Michael's. We
have been meeting on a monthly basis for a number of years as members
of Equipes Notre-Dame (Teams), a church organisation for Christian married
couples (www.teamsgb.org.uk). During
our meetings in 2013 we felt called to find a way of celebrating marriage with
our wider communities. We explored the possibility by talking to Fr Paul who encouraged us to go ahead and plan an
evening of celebration. During our planning we were conscious that many of our
parishioners do not have Catholic spouses so decided not to include a
celebration of Mass.
The evening got off to a rather inauspicious start as Reading, still suffering from the effects of the recent flooding, had been gridlocked since the early afternoon, so added a couple of hours to people’s journeys home from work. In addition, at 7pm the main road into Sonning Common was closed for overnight repairs, and we had scheduled a 7.30pm start! However, people were not deterred, and used the country lanes to get to St Michael’s. About thirty couples gathered, together with a few people whose spouses had died or were unable to attend. As well as hymns, readings and bidding prayers, our service of celebration included personal reflections on their marriage by two couples, and an address by Fr Paul. A particularly moving time was when each couple came forward and took a light from the Paschal candle and together lit a smaller candle. As each couple came forward, the others were asked to pray for them. Those attending alone also lit candles. After this symbolic gesture Fr Paul led us in a renewal of our marriage vows.
After the service we moved to the hall, where glasses of Prosecco wine were waiting together with a beautiful ‘marriage’ cake especially commissioned for the occasion. People had been invited to bring their wedding albums along and many did, and it was interesting to see how much styles have changed over the last five decades or so. Looking at each other’s wedding photos and sharing stories of our wedding days, was a fitting end to a wonderful evening.
The evening got off to a rather inauspicious start as Reading, still suffering from the effects of the recent flooding, had been gridlocked since the early afternoon, so added a couple of hours to people’s journeys home from work. In addition, at 7pm the main road into Sonning Common was closed for overnight repairs, and we had scheduled a 7.30pm start! However, people were not deterred, and used the country lanes to get to St Michael’s. About thirty couples gathered, together with a few people whose spouses had died or were unable to attend. As well as hymns, readings and bidding prayers, our service of celebration included personal reflections on their marriage by two couples, and an address by Fr Paul. A particularly moving time was when each couple came forward and took a light from the Paschal candle and together lit a smaller candle. As each couple came forward, the others were asked to pray for them. Those attending alone also lit candles. After this symbolic gesture Fr Paul led us in a renewal of our marriage vows. 
