Funeral, Wedding and Two baptisms in less than 24 hours

It was a privilege to take the funeral of Mark Rossiter in Awali Church on Thursday morning. It was a wonderfully inclusive Bahraini occasion with a mix of Bahrainis –men and women- and expatriates present. Although not married himself, he was obviously very close to his sister and brother-n-law’s children as they were to him. They referred to him as almost a second father and it was clear that he had many friends in Bahrain.

On the Thursday afternoon Richard and Gicela were married. As a family they have been attending St Christopher’s on Friday mornings from Saudi Arabia and there has been a real sense for them “coming home”; this was reinforced with the baptism the following day of William and Isabella, their two children. As Gicela is from Colombia there was quite a South and Central American presence: Bolivia, Venezuela and Mexico at both occasions and more than a little interest in the World Cup.