This week my little brother Nick married the lovely Stacey at a civil ceremony in Canterbury.

I was honoured to be asked to give a reading on the big day, perhaps even write something. I came up with the below poem about love.

While the wedding was a non-religious ceremony, it is impossible for me to speak about love except in the terms of Jesus' love for me - it is the love that guides and underpins every relationship in my life.

So you'll see from the hyperlinks below that this poem, ahem, "borrows" heavily from the Gospels, Prophets, Saints and other great Christian lyricists.

Beginning/End

In the beginning there was love
Love formed you in the womb
And brought you out into the world
Love held your hand as you took your first steps
As a boy and as a girl
Yes in the beginning there was love

And now you're beginning there is love
Love brought you to this room
And it will carry you through every day
The Word will hold you together
Through the storm and through the spray
In each new beginning there is love

And as life goes on you'll find,
Love's not jealous, it's only kind
And as life goes on you'll see
It's only in giving that we receive

Because in the end there is love
The force that flung the stars into space
Is here today in this place
From life's first cry to final breath
Love is the place we find our rest
Our hope in the end is love.