Forty couples from across the British Union Conference celebrated a couples' dinner on Saturday night, 17 December, to commemorate enriching their marriages at the Leonardo Hotel near Heathrow Airport.
The couples who attended the event enjoyed a creative and entertaining but insightful presentation from Dr Des Boldeau and his wife, Catherine Anthony Boldeau. Presenting on the topic of 'For better or…' they shared their three values that can enhance a marriage relationship by focusing on the importance of openness, forgiveness and togetherness in the marriage experience.
The Boldeaus illustrated their points by sharing many real-life examples to the admiration of the attendees. They allowed the couples to be creative by providing them with cards and envelopes to write love letters to each other for sharing at Christmas. The couples also had the opportunity to take home a piece of clay to design a symbol that best represents their relationship.
The ministry of Marriage Enrichment Fellowship (MEF) began over 20 years ago to encourage couples to value their marriages by attending regular couples' dinners and yearly weekend retreats to enhance their relationships. During the pandemic, the quarterly seminars continued via Zoom, with many joining worldwide.
The leader of the MEF, Elder Peterson Sentenga from Reading, says the evening programme was excellent and educative, and he was grateful to the Boldeaus for their inspiring presentation.
The couples celebrated with those who recently marked their anniversaries with special cakes. The next dinner is scheduled for early March 2023.