02 Apr
Wedding with a difference
Having just received an invitation to a family wedding in Cumbria in the summer I was delighted to receive the wedding gift list. Normally it means a trip to John Lewis or House of Fraser and looking down a list of saucepans and china, but this invitation was different.
My nephew, as a keen carer for the world, has asked all guests to donate to OXFAM. The donation will not be in money, but we will be able to purchase an item or even an animal to help the Third World. What a wonderful idea. In age when we all have far too much this is one way we can share.
What do you think ?
April 8th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Unlike years ago, when things were done proper (please not the subtle employment of a hint of sarcasm here) in a time when boy met girl and didn’t instantly move in together and spend 5-8 years ‘living in sin’ before getting married, the giving of wedding gifts was the bedrock of the establishment of the new family home.
Now, of course, as has been the experience of my own children, they move in with girlfriends and boyfriends and more often than not what makes up the contents of their homes are ’seconds’ from family members: my wife and I gave our last sofa and chairs to our youngest son (it was really the wife’s rationalising the expenditure of my hard earned money on something we didn’t need - she saw it as a way to get a new sofa and chair set for our recently redecorated living room).
When my son did get married, he pretty much had all the crockery, lampshades, toaster, kettle, mugs and so forth so the ‘wedding list’ comprised of gift vouchers (I could go on for hours about that, but that’s another story)! The point is, this whole idea of buying a goat or donating money to a charity for a third world country instead of a set of napkin holders from an Argos online wedding list I think is a wonderful idea.
Perhaps the church should suggest this to the soon-to-be ‘happy couples’ when they make first contact with the church to set up their wedding?
April 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
It sounds like a good idea. I do think if the Church were to suggest it to engaged couples, tthey ( Church) would need to do some research first. I read something ( cannot remember where) about them being ” all goated out” so to speak. So perhaps finding a source of where to send the money to ensure it would definitely get there would be good.
I’m sure there are people with the right contacts in the field of Charity Organisations who could provide more information.
April 14th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The use of ‘charity gift lists’ as wedding lists instead of the usual ‘Argos‘ or ‘John Lewis’ wedding lists are becoming very popular indeed.
I had friends who lived in Oxford, a few years back, who set up an online ‘wedding list’ with Oxfam and invited their wedding guests to ‘buy a goat’ for a third world village instead of setting up a wedding list for their own material needs.
Ann - there exist some excellent charity websites that support these sorts of facilities: the most famous of which is run by Oxfam. Being intrigued by the whole idea, I visited the Oxfram online gift’s website, which can be found on the following link:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/Default.aspx
If you scroll to the very bottom of the page, you’ll notice a section to either help you set up a wedding or wish list, or visit one from a family member or friend.
It took me a few minutes to set up a ‘wish list’ (in my case) which included a small sample of the wide range of ‘gifts’ people can donate towards, gifts that have very real outcomes for those regions supported by Oxfam throughout the world.
If you would like to visit the list I set up (and by all means buy something if you wish), then click the following link: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/Lists/ViewList.aspx?ListID=1010256
On there you can buy a goat for a village for £25; school dinners for 100 children for as little as £6… or, if you have the money, you could spend £75 and help support the establishment of a plantation farm growing coffee, cocoa, almond, dates or olives.
I could have spent another hour adding a HUGE number of items onto this list, but it’s there as an example and hopefully if people visit this page and feel they would like to contribute towards the work of Oxfam in this way, then the few minutes spent setting up the list will have benefited a great number of people.
Daniel Gibbins
Fakenham Parish Church Webmaster
April 15th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Hello good people. I am so thrilled to see a church website promoting this sort of thing - and to actually have a list that I can look at and see where my money is going to. Fantastic idea.
I just wanted to say I was quite moved by working my way through the Oxfam website, having used the link above. I have just bought a goat from your list!
I give to charities when I can, but the process of physically seeing and reading about where my money will go, is quite something. I now know that my money will purchase a goat for a family in the third world and that for me is so rewarding to know.
I’d recommend everyone who can to view the list above, if nothing else it will open your eyes to some of the excellent work and projects that Oxfam are undertaking to enrich and support the lives of impoverished peoples in some of the most difficult places on this earth.
I don’t go to church, except for funerals, weddings and christenings, but if I lived in Fakenham (I live in Dorking) I’d definitely come and spend some time with you and explore your wonderful community spirit that is so evident from the website.
Keep up the sterling work. Caz B.
May 19th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I was so thrilled to find this blog post! I’ve been working so hard to get my local church in Hereford to pick up the idea of providing not only wedding preparation classes, but material like this to help third world organisations.
I too have had experience of attending weddings where the couple have lived together for years and really have no need for the items on their Argos gift list. It really does make much more sense to offer this kind of list for those who already have more than they need and help feed and provide for those who have nothing or very little.
Keep doing what you’re doing, you are setting a wonderful example to us all.
Best wishes - Sue Salter.