[Magdalen] An unusual event

[Roger Stokes]

Tomorrow I am due to solemnize the marriage of Will and Suzy at the 
church of the parish where I now live.  I did take a wedding in July 
last year before Iretired but the one before that was December 2010.  
For various reasons (historical and demographical) church weddings in 
that parish were unusual.

I have known Will for a number of years and I think all who know him 
would agree that his relationship with Suzy has been transformational.  
There has been a new dimension to him since they met and we rejoice at 
their relationship.  That said Lysander's observation in A Midsummer 
Night's Dream that "The course of true love never did run smooth" 
certainly apples to them.

The wedding was originally scheduled for September last year in 
Somerset, Will's parents' home, but that was changed for some reason.  
Instead they were going to visit Suzy's mother in Zimbabwe but then Will 
went down with acure pancreatitis to an extent that was life-threatening 
the week before they were due to fly out. Close.  They then decided they 
wanted to marry in Bedford as they both live here now.

Because Will is now a director of a management buy-out company they 
couldn't get a mortgage so they postponed the wedding to April 2016.  
Then it was Suzy's turn to be seriously ill with ovarian cancer so the 
wedding was brought forward.  Although the tumours grew rapidly between 
CT scan and removal the histology says that the Stage 3A cancer is not 
as aggressive as it might have been so chemo is being deferred for a 
while to allow her to recover from the operation.

The one consistent factor in all of this is that they want me to 
officiate, which gives me great pleasure.  Suzy has been married before 
so it will also be the first wedding of a divorcee in that church and 
her daughter Abigail will be the bridesmaid.  By coincidence Abigail is 
also the first named storm to hit Great Britain and Ireland, and that is 
due to happen tomorrow night a long way North of here.

The reading is from that beautifyl allegorical book, the Song of 
Songs/Solomon. abridged to avoid offending the more sensitive of the 
congregation.  The officiant may well use it as an evangelistic 
opportunity in his homily.

I pray that I may do them proud officiating in a place I am unfamiliar 
with and so don't really know the choreography to make it flow.

Roger