As he strolled the ballroom of Jacaranda Golf and Country Club in Plantation, South Florida, singer Audley Rollen paused at each table to remind ladies who attended the ‘A Time For Love God’s Way’ show, that they are special.

The “pretty girl” who got most attention at the February 12, pre-Valentine’s Day show was Dawn Marie Wisdom, his wife of 23 years. Both ministers of religion, they have staged A Time For Love God’s Way since 2013.

It sees couples renewing their vows, re-committing to relationships and receiving marital advice from Dr Dawn Marie as Wisdom is known.

According to Rollen, “The most satisfying aspect of A Time For Love is to see the people enjoying themselves as they listen attentively and collect the valuable information from Dr Dawn Marie that can be used to make marriages and/or relationships better. The success of our 23 years of marriage has several layers; we strive to keep love present in our marriage, we do not allow our discussions and/or conversations to become confrontations, we try not to have unrealistic expectations and/or perfection from each other because none of us are perfect, but one of the greatest things for us is having God at the centre of our marriage.”

Rollen once lived a far from perfect life before converting to Christianity over 20 years ago. He started his singing career in the mid-1960s and was lead singer for The Hippy Boys, The Emotions and Youth Professionals, groups which had brothers Aston and Carlton Barrett, Tyrone Downie, (later of The Wailers), Robbie Shakespeare and keyboardist Bernard “Touter” Harvey (later of Inner Circle) as members.

A Rastafarian for much of his life, Rollen recorded message songs like ‘Repatriation is A Must’ and ‘Hallelujah’ before migrating to the United States in 1976. There, he continued to record and perform on shows before the loss of his father and son inspired him to embrace Christianity.

Last Sunday, the sprightly pastor kept the audience rocking to renditions of ‘Again’ and ‘Wind Beneath my Wings’. He also took time to remind couples that although marriage is not all flowers and kisses, nothing tops having a lifelong partner.

“Marriages can survive challenges, but both husband and wife need to have the desire to collectively peel back the layers and find solutions to their problems,” Rollen stated. “Overcoming challenges can make a marriage stronger because it’ll help to develop confidence to solve problems. This way, the marriage will be better and not bitter.”

– Howard Campbell