I became a Marriage Celebrant a while back and my details are now entered into the Register of Marriage Celebrants.

When I received the large envelope, on which was clearly printed the Australian Coat of Arms in one corner, I knew that it had to be the notification of my appointment or that I had missed out. So, it was with a little trepidation that I opened the envelope. It was almost like the nervous sensation one got when back in school and the exam results arrived in the mail or the letter of first offers arrived for university places; you hesitated before opening it in case the news would be bad and then, having worked up the courage, you opened it very fast. That’s how I reacted on the day the big, official looking envelope arrived.

I started reading the two-page letter from the Federal Registrar of Marriage Celebrants, but didn’t read every word at first. I skimmed across the lines to get to the section that said... "I am pleased to inform you". It was at that point that I called out to my wife, Grace, to relay to her the good news and together we had a minor celebration to congratulate each other.

I say each other because it was a long and unusual journey for me to get to this point and it’s been a journey that I couldn’t have made alone. You see, about 8 years ago I made the decision to come out of the corporate scene after 26 years. It was a decision that I never thought I would have to make because the company that I worked for, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), provided me with many opportunities for advancement and had good human resource policies in place. In fact, I was in management right from the beginning when I got a job with one of the ICI subsidiaries and never looked back.

But, things change and it was a culmination of events that got me to the point of decision-making regarding my career and although when the time came I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, it became anything but! One has to remember that as with anything major in life, whether it be your job, marriage, family or other milestones to which you have devoted a lot of years, you just can’t walk away without a lot of soul searching. So I began the process of evaluation and analysis of where I was and what I had achieved and what it all meant to me and how, if I walked away, would this impact on not only my own future years, but also on my family (I have 3 children, Karen who is married to Sam Giglio - they have 3 beautiful children, Alyssa-Grace, Jacob Francesco and Rebecca Terese; my son Kris who is married to Nancy Cvetkov – they have two sons, Xander Kane and Emerson Luke; my other daughter Lisa who is a true free spirit).

I was at home at that time, taking a break from work. My programme of evaluation wasn’t getting me any closer to making a decision about my future so, it happened that I was talking about this to the three Marist nuns that resided in our Parish of Laverton at that time and their advice was so simple that it almost seemed insignificant – Do not think about the problem anymore! Allow your mind to process all that you have considered and the answer as to the decision that you should make will come to you! I was sceptical about what they said as I suspected that there was an expectation of divine intervention on their part. However, I have always believed in serendipity and so I thought why not this time.

Within 2 days the answer struck me like a bolt of lightening. I knew that my life had to take a different direction. I couldn’t really understand why, but, I knew that’s how it had to be. Right then, I phoned my manager at work and gave my resignation; I hadn’t even consulted with my wife, so certain was I that the decision was right.

Many might think that the decision was an impetuous one. It may have been in some ways. Certainly my income was going to be severely affected, but, I now had other motivators in my live and having a lot of money coming in each month wasn’t on top of the list. My direction was now going to be concentrated on the community. I answered a job advert in the Age for a Parish Business Manager and got the job; the pay was token. I became a Justice of the Peace; a Friend of the Lions; did some things for Rotary; got involved in the production of an annual play and so on. It was during this time that I had the inclination towards becoming a celebrant.

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