8 May 2026

A union of two congregations is like a marriage. Women and men  who are or have been married will know how much work is required to deepen the marriage bond and enrich family life especially if the marriage is blessed with children.

Sometimes we look at other people’s marriages and say things like, ‘She wears the trousers in that marriage.’ Or ‘He is the breadwinner.’ Or perhaps he is a successful businessman, well-known in the community with status and increasing wealth. And people say, ‘She lives in his shadow.’

As the years pass, the shadow deepens and darkens and she is almost forgotten until one day an unexpected light is shone on their union and we see so clearly that she is the one who has sustained the marriage bringing to it an unseen but invaluable gift – her forgiveness.

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