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On Saturday 13th November, four couples preparing for marriage at St Alphege in the coming months gathered in the Oliver Bird Hall for the first of our new Solihull Parish Marriage Preparation Days.

Along with a team of four facilitators from the new Marriage Preparation Team (which comprises Nathan and Victoria Holliday, Will and Gill Odling and John and Dilly Wilkinson), they met to discuss issues relevant to marriage such as communication, commitment and managing conflict. Fr Patrick joined the end of the session and encouraged them to reflect on the significance of getting married in church for their faith journey.

The team of facilitators undertook training earlier in the year through the Mothers' Union ‘Loving for Life’ programme and have been working hard on putting together a programme for the days (each couple is expected to attend one) which will run at intervals throughout the year.

The next day is on 16th January starting after the 9.15am service at St Alphege so it's  important the whole congregation looks out for couples and offers them a friendly welcome. Of course there are often a number of couples planning marriages in church each week and whether or not they become part of the church in the future depends very much on the reception they receive now!