Once a month, our congregation moves our midweek service to Friday night. On this night, typically the whole church hangs out in a more informal setting, frequently including food, games and a spiritual theme.

On Friday, April 14, our crew gathered at an old spot – the Cape Verdean Community Development building (CACD) on High Street in Pawtucket. Upon arrival, we all sang, shared good news and announcements. The best piece of news was the baptism the day before of Daniela Martins.

During a brief break, the kids and some chaperones excitedly ran downstairs, where they had seen the movie projector set up. They had games and a movie for the rest of our evening together.

The marrieds, singles, campus and teens stayed together for a night focused on “Marriage.” Somewhat different from times past, the single members of our congregation were focused on. If a doctor doesn’t start learning about medicine until he is seeing patients, there would be trouble. Similarly, singles need to learn about marriage prior to it so they can make a successful transition.

The back-to- back relationship game, in fact, was won by two single friends (Jasmine and her sister & Aaron and his friend who came out to visit). An interactive lesson followed with two points: 1.) Don’t let the differences divide you. 2.) Do let the differences develop you. We discussed how being a conflict avoider or conflict engager can affect our relationships. We also talked about what qualities we can see in our spouses that will allow us to be better disciples of Jesus.

The night concluded with a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Mug, who taught us that it is what’s inside that counts. Fellowship went deep into the evening, as we connected and laughed and prayed.

May God continue to bless our marriages past, present and future. May He also reveal to us the mystery of our relationship to Him, even through our marriages as well.