The Christian vision of marriage is not a series of moral rules to be followed, rather it is the clearest example we have of what it means to base your life on your belief about God and what He is like.  As the Marriage Service clearly states marriage is a gift from God and this gift reflects the very nature of His divinity.  We worship a perfect God who ultimately revealed Himself in His perfect Son - Jesus Christ, our Lord. Although Jesus Himself never married He did approve of marriage because on at least one occasion He attended a wedding and there performed His premier miracle when He turned water into wine.  On that memorable occasion He adorned and beautified the wedding of that anonymous couple by His presence.  I must say how much I have enjoyed officiating at the weddings I have taken within the united benefice in the early days of my ministry in Essex.  Each one has been unique - each one has been different and special.  At every one of them Christ has been as spiritually present as He was physically present at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.

At the very heart of the sacrament of marriage we find a living embodiment of the Good News of the Gospel.  If I were to sum up the heart of the Christian Gospel in just two words - those words would have to be LOVE and FORGIVENESS.  These words form the very core of Jesus' teaching and have, therefore, much to teach us about the Christian vision of marriage.

Nowadays, in church, we tend to be over-reliant upon words.  In a church that was reformed at about the same time as the invention of printing this in not really surprising.  But words aren't the only vehicles we can employ to teach the faith.  Symbols, images, pictures, stories and drama can also be used to depict in essence what faith is all about.  When you think about it what is DONE at weddings is just as important as what is SAID.  Actions speak louder than words and the actions of holding hands as the vows are vows are made, exchanging rings and being bound as one with the priest's stole speak volumes as to what marriage in all about.

I have always been very fond of Christian Icons.  The most popular iconographic subjects are, of course, Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary - but they are not the only subject of the iconographer's art.  At every wedding I have ever conducted hundreds of photographs are taken of bride and groom.  These photos will have pride of place on many a mantle-shelf.    They can, in fact, be regarded as modern day icons for, on the day of their marriage, brides and grooms can be regarded as Living Icons - kings and queens of creation - images which convey a message of eternal worth. ,In the new marriage service the prayer before the blessing of the marriage includes these lovely words:-

        Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts
        And a crown upon their heads.
        Bless them in their work and in their companionship;
        Awake and asleep, in joy and in sorrow, in life and in death.
        Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that banquet
        Where your saints feast for ever in your heavenly home.

A marriage at its best reveals an image which has at its very core the Christian message of LOVE and FORGIVENESS - ideals which were supremely shown in the life of  our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  When it is reaching its fullest potential marriage is both a symbol of what God is like and a means through which we can (if we continue to be LOVING and FORGIVING) grow more and more like Him who is perfect.  Icons are windows which are open to Eternity and show us something of God's LOVE and God's FORGIVENESS.

This year we are to host within the United Benefice a special service to celebrate God's gift of Marriage.  The service takes place on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th at 10.30a.m. at ST. MARY'S, KELVEDON.  As part of the service we invite married couples to come along and, in a corporate act of witness, renew their marriage vows together and reaffirm their union and commitment one to another in marriage.  This will take place when all husbands and wives say together, after the priest, the vows they made on the day of their wedding.  A special welcome is extended to all those whose marriages took place at All Saints', Feering and St. Mary's, Kelvedon,  but a warm invitation is extended to all husbands and wives to come along and join the celebration by collectively renewing the vows and the promises made on the day you said:- "I WILL".

              NUPTIAL BLESSINGS,

            FATHER DAVID