During the month of February we've been putting the spotlight on marriage. Members of 1st UMC-Maryville have been sharing their wedding pictures and stories and we've printed them in the church newsletter and shared many of them online. Ron & Carol Werker are heavily involved in a program called "Marriage Encounters." In fact Carol came up with the idea to put this spotlight on marriage this month. Here is their story.
Ron & Carol were
high school sweethearts. They met when
Ron came into the clothing store where Carol was working, and she sold him a
coat.
After
high school, they were off to separate colleges, so they tearfully said
"good bye" with the anticipation of dating again during vacation
times from college…well, it didn't take long for them to realize they didn't
want to be separated. Ron proposed during
their freshman year at college & they were married the following January 23,
1966 during Ron's semester break.
"We
were married in a small town in Indiana, and it snowed 6" during the
rehearsal the night before, so we weren’t sure if our family, friends, and
wedding party would be able to make it to the wedding," Carol recalls.
Ron adds,
"But all went well, the small church was full, and the sun came out just
as the wedding began."
One funny
incident happened because Carol's wedding dress had a wide hoop skirt. They had discussed beforehand that Ron would
walk out the narrow aisle a little ahead of Carol, holding her hand. What they hadn't planned was Carol catching
her shoe inside the hoop on her dress. Ron would stop and Carol would give a kick
to free her foot. This happened several
times all the way down the aisle, resulting in a roar of laughter from everyone
in attendance!
They
agree that commitment and communication is a key factor in a successful
marriage, acknowledging that God has given to them the "gift of each
other."
Carol
says that God and the church has always been an important part of their life so
when they moved to Tennessee in 1980, they discovered a new church being formed
in Seymour with a Pastor named Larry Carroll.
"We were charter members there for 27 years" Ron adds. When they
moved to Greenback they decided to become members of 1st UMC Maryville, because "it
gave us the feeling of being back home." Ron & Carol joined this congregation June
21, 2007. "We're proud to serve God
with 1st UMC being our home church now, and so thankful for the many friends we
continue to meet!"
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