Effective ministry

I got an e-mail last week from a woman whose wedding I officiated almost ten years ago. I hear from her or her husband occasionally. We have kept in touch, even though they moved to New York (where he lived) right after their wedding.

I had known the bride for a few years before she got married. She was a regular at our Saturday night chapel service. The service was small, and filled mostly with retired people, so I couldn't help noticing her when she first started attending. One of her best friends from church was an 80-year-old woman who still volunteered regularly in the church office. She also participated in a couple of Bible studies and went to a community organizing meeting with me once.

At some point this young man started attending the Saturday night service with her. All of the widows who attended our chapel service had a front row seat for their courtship. Of course, they got married in the chapel, right before the Saturday evening service.