Couples married for half a century reaffirms wedding vows

20 September 2006

Last week, nearly a dozen couples renewed their marriage vows and began their second honeymoon, thanks to Church Army evangelist Elizabeth Cairns (pictured left), who spearheaded the whole thing.

Elizabeth, based in County Armagh, came up with the idea to have a service with a renewal of wedding vows because she felt marriage wasn't prioritised in society. She explains, "I think that marriages take a lot of work more so now than years ago because there seem to be more financial problems and more pressure on families to keep up with other people around them. In this throwaway society a small issue can quickly become a big issue and it's easy to walk away than try and sort out the issue. I wanted to show that marriage is something to be celebrated and valued, and that it was not to be taken lightly."

Elizabeth gathered together married members of the congregation to take part in the ceremony and re-affirm their love and commitment to each other in front of family and friends. Elizabeth and her husband Eddie also renewed their wedding vows.

There was plenty of celebrations afterwards; guests were treated to a meal and a slice of the wedding cake. "There were gifts for each couple", says Elizabeth, "and a wedding cake which was cut by a couple whose anniversary fell on that day. Everyone who came really enjoyed the day and found it a real blessing to be able to celebrate many years of marriage. The bishop did a calculation and he calculated that there were 288 years of marriage being celebrated per couple and as individuals it'd be over 500 years of marriage experience in church."

Elizabeth believes that this gesture of faith in action will reinforce the importance of marriage to members of her local community. She states, "I hope that as a result of this event, people will be blessed, marriages will be strengthened and families will be encouraged. We often say that a marriage is made of two people, but when there are three people in the marriage (the third person being God), He helps you overcome times of difficulties and blesses you with times of joy. It is my hope that the people who participated will be an example to other people."

Follow this link for more information about Elizabeth Cairns.

to find out more about how Church Army evangelists are getting out more for mission.