Not the Wedding Day

Eddie and Jo’s big day was not a wedding service.  As readers of this blog are aware they were married on Inauguration Day.  Otherwise Jo would have had to return to the USA due to visa restrictions.  Fortunately this has all been sorted out.  So strictly speaking Saturday was not their wedding day.  But it was really!  

Guests arrived in their finery.  The Scots (Scottish Scots and London Scots) were be-kilted; the girls a veritable fashion show.  Jo’s dad, Jim, got to walk her down the aisle.  Her mum/mom, Jenny, got to be flustered and emotional.  All the components of a wedding service were there except the vows and rings.  

Thanks to our Book of Common Order I had found some suitable promises

I Edward/Joanna

in the presence of God and these witnesses

renew my commitment

to you Joanna/Edward

as your husband/wife.

All that I am I give to you

all that I have I share with you

Whatever the future holds

I will love you

and stand by you

as long as we both shall live. 

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the ceremony was the singing of the Aaronic Blessing (“The Lord bless you and keep you”) which I led “a cappella”, joined admirably by the all the other Presbyterians present.  The All Souls family showed themselves at their most loving and caring by facilitating the day, including the catering, which was at another church not far away.

It was good to spend some time with Graham Caskie (an avid reader of this blog) and to meet his fiancé Clare.  I first met Graham at a General Assembly when he was a youth delegate.  He’s now in insurance and though he tried to explain what it is he does I’m none the wiser.  Another connection was made with Peter McMahon, whose grandmother, Jessie, is a member of our congregation.  He was playing the cello, as well as being a guest.  I was also glad to catch up with Alan Boag, now working in Perth, and pleased to hear he’s getting a permanent contract at long last.  As Alan himself put it, he has flown the nest.  

We danced the night away in good Scottish style, led by the ultimate oxymoron, an English ceilidh band.

Going to London for a wedding is certainly out of the ordinary for a parish minister.  This has been one of those occasions that takes me out of the predictable daily cycle of ministry in Kirkmuirhill.  I went as pastor of a particular family and feel that the bond with the Farrow family has deepened.  We won’t see much of Eddie and Jo in the future but I went as much for Keith and Evelyn (Eddie’s parents) who remain in Blackwood.  And for their generation of friends, who are watching their children become parents and wondering if the Lord and his church will be as much a part of their grandchildren’s lives as they have been for them. 

I missed Kim and the kids terribly; nevertheless, I’m glad I went. 

(I don’t have any photographs of the day.  If you have any please send them and I’ll post them on this sight.)