Being an honoree at the Sept. 27 church service at Lighthouse Baptist Church, Weisenberg Township, gave those who were married 50 years or more a second chance to march down the aisle.

Couples came in one-by-one to take their seats in the front row of the church.

The celebration of family and marriage was followed by a reception with food prepared at The Caring Place.

After the hot meal, cupcakes, placed to resemble a bridal gown, were presented for dessert.

Cheryl Summerfelt, who made carnation corsages for each person, helped pin them in place before the service.

Tim Bollinger led the congregation in singing such inspiring songs as “Love that Binds – “Put on the love that binds us together in perfect unity.”

The Rev. Hal Hopkins said it was good in a time when marriage is taken so lightly, we have these people as an example.

“A Christian Home” was sung with the words “Oh, give us a home built firm upon the Savior. … The bonds of love no enemy can sever.”

Hopkins read from Corinthians: “Now abideth faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love.”

He then said some things that bind love are showing family pictures, having a relationship with the church and having a family day once a month.

“God’s love gives an inner peace,” Hopkins said. “Where does the family start? It starts with a man falling in love with a girl.”

A PowerPoint presentation showed each couple and something about their lives, such as: “We worked different shifts, so it was a task for both to rear the children.”

“We read each others minds.” “Household chores are my responsibility. He does the outside work.” “God’s love has given me an inner peace.”

Hopkins said a great strength of Lighthouse Baptist is shown as it celebrates six couples married 50 years or more and another five or six with 40 years of marriage.

“People believe they can opt out. They say a certificate is just a piece of paper, but a certificate gives certain responsibilities,” the pastor said. “Today, these couples are still saying ‘I do.’ They still love each other.

“You are our heroes. We salute you and celebrate you. God bless you and encourage you. You leave a great legacy.”

There were pictures of each couple to indicate their seats and later to designate places at the table. Each couple also received a certificate.

Jerry and Phyllis Allbright, married in 1964, had a second corsage, a white rose, presented by their children, Cindy, Lisa and Renee.

They lived in California, where Jerry was a manager for Kraft for a long time.

When they came back East to be closer to family, he worked at Strohl’s brewery. They also have four grandchildren, two boys and two girls.

Mel and Betty Kletzli live at Green Acres, Breinigsville. They were married Oct. 15, 1960.

He served with the Army in Japan. When Mel came home, he worked at Brockway Motor Trucks, a division of Mack Trucks.

He attended Cornell to study managing concepts. Their son-in-law was a teacher at Northwestern Lehigh.

Dan and Vicki Gehman met when Vicki bought a new car which did not work right.

A friend introduced Dan as a great Ford mechanic. He was a truck driver for 30 years, a mobile mechanic and had a business buying and selling batteries.

He is proud to have driven 4 million miles without an accident. Vicki, who worked for a newspaper and then was a pre-school teacher for 25 years, said with pride she is still working.

With the death of Vicki’s parents, the couple raised her two young sisters.

Marion and Ada Miller met when he was admitted to the hospital. She was a soon-to-graduate nurse.

He worked at Boyertown Body Works and was a postmaster at New Berlinsville.

She worked in Pottstown Hospital and as a visiting nurse. They were founding members of Lighthouse Baptist where their son was the first minister.

Ron and Carol Walker, of Breinigsville, met at church, but spoke their vows at a different church. He was a machinist and worked at Samsonite in customer service.

Diane and Jack Bartholomew were married June 27, 1965, and live near Old Route 22.

He was in the Air Force for 30 years before retiring in 1995.

“We were always a team,” Diane said. “He had responsibilities in the military. I participated in get-togethers held for the women.”

Jack, a squadron commander, attended Northwestern Lehigh High School.

“It’s been a great 50 years,” Diane said. “We met a lot of people along the way. We were overseas for 11 years.”