MANDEVILLE, Manchester — The Ridgemount United Church recently honoured 19 couples in the congregation for staying in their marital union for 50 years and more.

The event at the 175-year-old church took the form of a special service which church leaders said was meant to inspire the church family.

“We congratulate you for over 50 years of marriage and I thank you for the example that you have set for me and my generation by remaining in your covenant for over 50 years,” gift bearers — including children — told the honoured couples.

Symbolically, there was a passing of a “charge” from Cecilyn Nelson, in the absence of her husband Rupert — who could not share the task due to illness — to Sheldon and Natasha Forbes.

The Nelsons have been married for 58 years — the longest in the congregation. The Forbes tied the knot in April of this year, making them the most recently married couple in the church.

Fifteen elderly couples were present to be recognised: Cassel and Ethel Palmer (50 years), Vernand and Vereline Walters (57 years), Leslie and Olivia Smith (56 years), Percival and Ivylyn Prince (56 years), Phillip and Terris Leung (56 years), Kimroy and Mildred Splatt (56 years), Livingstone and Ena Dixon (55 years), Vincent and Eva Dixon (54 years), Qutt and Elizabeth Evans (52 years), Roy and Jossette Williams (52 years), Levi and Edna Porter (52 years), Neville and Joyce Buckley (50 years), George and Tatyana Armstrong (50 years), Donald and Dorma Wright (52 years), and Renford and Mary Douglas (50 years).

Keith and Pearl White (57 years), Calvin and Irene Fagan (50 years), and Brenton and Florence Eubank (50 years) were also honoured but missed the service.

Reverend Dr Clinton Chisholm, who gave an upbeat address to the congregation, said that it was a historical moment in the life of the church as it can be very “rough” to maintain a marriage.

“I hope you all realise you have made history today,” he said.

Chisholm said there was a “double edge” in getting married as it had the potential to make a couple very happy or very sad.

He noted that sometimes simple things caused disagreements in marriage which lead to eventual divorce.

The visiting pastor urged couples to get the input of a third party when necessary and always seek to “find a compromise (and) strike a compromise”.

“If you can’t compromise, don’t even pray ’bout getting married. Marriage is all about compromise. You will never be able to have your own way all the while. Sometimes you will have to give up your way in the interest of peace in the marriage,” he told the congregation.

Using the traditional marriage vows as a springboard to speak about Fidelity and Oneness, he said that fidelity, like oneness in marriage, required a “distinctive, exclusive, whole life, all life” commitment.