I was thrilled to be part of the great congregation that filled St Peter's Church on Saturday April 21 to celebrate the institution of marriage.

As a widower of ten years it brought back happy memories of 43 years of married life, for which I thank God.

It also reminded me of the words of the poet: "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."

Thanks are due to the Mayor, Councillor Smith, for his vision in suggesting and supporting the Festival of Marriage. It was good to see our first citizen and his wife showing their support for the sanctity and happiness of a good marriage.

It was also a good PR exercise on the part of St Peter's and I am sure we citizens of Brighton and Hove will support their endeavours to keep their church open and cause it to flourish.

St Peter's is a perfect example of early 19th-century gothic revival architecture with a chancel ceiling comparable to that of King's College chapel, Cambridge.

It belongs, not only to the Church of England, but to the whole city. We must fight to keep it open as a testimony to the old Brighton council motto: "In Deo Fidemus" - In God We Trust.

  • The Rev John Webster, Wilfrid Road, Hove