This morning we came together to celebrate the feast of St Valentine with a special Eucharist. Many of those who were married at St Marys in the last year,and those who plan to marry here this summer joined us for the service. In his sermon, Father Stephen told us about St Valentine, a third century martyr in Rome. Little is known about him, but legend recalls that he helped his jailer's daughter to write love letters to her beloved,and hence he became associated with those who are in love with each other, His love for Christ lead him to martyrdom and it is the love of Christ that sustains us through life. Father Stephen then talked to Beverly and David, members of our congregation who were married in 2012,they described the joy of their day and the continuing strength that their marriage gave to their relationship. We said a special collect of Reaffirmation of Love and Commitment to mark the day.

'Heavenly Father,
we offer you our souls and bodies
our thoughts our words and deeds
our love for one another;
unite our wills with your will,
that we may grow together
in love and peace
all the days of our life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord  Amen

We sang specially selected hymns,including 'Love Divide all Loves Excelling' so often sung at weddings. The Choir sang 'Arise, my Love' words from the Song of Songs, set to music by Joel Martinson, as the Anthem.
After the service there was coffee,and Beverly and David shared the photographs of their wedding with us.


On Saturday evening we had a marvelous feast of food from Hilary Platts and her team who produced delicious casseroles, chicken or beef, baked potatoes and a choice of puddings!! Following the wonderful food, we sang some well known folk songs to the accompaniment of the accordion, and listened appreciatively to several poems. It was a delightful evening and raised over £400 towards the new rooms. A big thank you to Hilary, Michael, and the team