A redundant church was brought out of retirement for a very special occasion.
Christ Church, on Bridge Street, hasn’t been used for worship for more than 30 years.
But its religious responsibility was temporarily revived in honour of Dorothy and David Mitchell, who returned to the special church to renew their wedding vows 60 years after they were married there.
The couple, who were brought up in Macclesfield and are former members of the Christ Church Youth Fellowship, were married in 1958.
Now both aged 82 and living in Somerset, their daughter Alison Dellar arranged for the church to be opened when they returned to Macclesfield to attend the funeral of Dorothy’s brother Stanley Harrison.
David, a retired vicar and former King’s pupil, said: “It was wonderful, so many memories came flooding back. It’s very much the same.”
He added: “It was sad to leave Macclesfield, we have very fond memories, but we felt it was our responsibility to do so.”
The visit was also an opportunity for Macclesfield Town fan David to return to his other ‘temple’ – the Moss Rose.
The grandfather of five added: “My other temple is Macclesfield Town football ground. It’s been a good time to return to Macclesfield - all my prayers are being answered at the moment!”
Alan Brant, who is a member of The Roe-naissance Project, a volunteer group formed to promote the conservation and renewal of Christ Church, said he was thrilled they were able to reopen the church for the marriage renewals.
He said: “We were happy to let them in and have a look around.
“We do get quite a lot of requests from people who would like go in for old time’s sake, but we don’t get many services nowadays. It was a really family affair, it was lovely.”
The special service was conducted by the Mitchell’s son-in-law, the Reverend Geoff Waters, with their daughters Helen Mitchell and Louise Waters also in attendance.
The couple were also surprised with a visit from David Booth, who is also a former member of the Youth Fellowship and a member of the Roe-naissance group.
The church is owned by the Churches Conservation Trust and currently opens to the public on the last Sunday of each month for the Treacle Market. The next market is on Sunday, April 29.
