Concorde - A Celebration of Marriage
The second major London event for National Marriage Week was the Concorde 2002 Celebration of Marriage organised and hosted by the Salvation Army. Billed as a multi-facetted event incorporating elements of a conference, marriage seminar, exhibition and entertainment there was something for everyone.
The event was held in Regents Hall on Oxford Street which provided an intimate atmosphere for an event on the scale envisaged. About 20 of the agencies working in Marriage Support were exhibiting with a range of their books, programmes and resources on display; 2-in-2-1 was there with a live internet display of the site courtesy of a telephone link provided by the organisers.
About 250 folk were there with a very strong contingent from the Salvation Army.
The Conference
Angela Sibson, Chief Executive of Relate acted a chairperson for the afternoon session, welcoming us all, and reminding us that this was billed as a Celebration of Marriage - we make a lot of the struggles, sometimes we need to celebrate the joys!!
Julia Hull, Head of Marriage Support Unit at the LCD spoke on the position the Government is taking. She assured us that the Government is well aware that marriage is the best environment for raising children, and of the phenomenal economic and social cost of marriage breakdown. She assured us that they are committed to marriage, but that they recognise that it is only one option in a range of lifestyle choices that people can make. People have a right to choose, and the government is investigating Civil Partnerships as a means to stabilise and legitimise other forms of relationship. Her department sees its role as supporting the wellbeing of all forms of adult relationships, and that her £5million budget will be spent on all aspects of support, with an aim to maximise the diversity of grants.
Rabbi Tony Bayfield, spoke on three critical aspects of marriage:-
- we should see marriage as flexible in form but constant in substance - it needs to be able to adapt to the social, economic and demographic needs of society
- marriage has an importance beyond child rearing - it is the place where we learn faithfulness, support, commitment and trust, essential elements in personal and community growth
- marriage is the best place for children to grow - a place of safety and security essential to maturing youth
Finally General Gowans of the Salvation Army exhorted those in the Church both to exemplify the ideal, and to deal compassionately with those who fall short. We need to invest much more time in both the enhancement and repair of marriage, whilst recognising that some relationships are beyond repair.
Marriage Seminar
Following an interlude, Nicky and Sila Lee gave us a taste of their Marriage Course, including an opportunity for all of us there to learn a little more about the Five Languages of Love. The Marriage Course is released on video this week.
The evening
After an hour break which provided the opportunity for some networking and visiting the stands, the crowd re-assembled for an evening Celebration with dance, music and much more. Unfortunately we weren't there so we can't report in detail, but from the brief rehearsals we witnessed, I'm sure a good time was had by all.
Concorde certainly provided a unique Celebration of Marriage as a part of National Marriage Week.
