Dear LPG readers,

I wonder how many people who are now pensioners remember far back enough to a time when a lot more people visited their local and preferred place of worship, even if that only meant that they attended the occasional religious life-milestone event.

Nearly all religions have celebrations that mark the ‘hatching, matching and dispatching’ of our family members and if they were the only reason for a visit, even the less dedicated family members were likely to find themselves involved with a family gathering that was much more likely to be associated with some form of religious ritual before all the partying got started. 

For the ladies, such an occasion was an excuse to get a new outfit, and the men faced the ultimate challenge: determining whether the dress suit still fit. I also cannot help but remember all those beautiful outfits the children would only get to wear once because they would have grown out of them when they needed them again. 

As we age, we are all too aware of how many more funerals we need to add to our social calendars. However, in the 21st-century Western world, weddings happen much less often, and christenings even less.  

While many religions are noteworthy, I can only discuss mine. I was one of those 1950s children for whom Sunday school was obligatory weekly. This might be why I had a church wedding and took my children to church every week from quite a young age. I have to express a degree of disappointment because they all got married in registry offices and have children who have hardly seen the inside of a church, let alone been christened.  

But back to the older generations.  Christianity cannot be the only religious tradition where the equivalent of Godparents are assigned; those people who promise to help the parents ensure that the kids are well brought up (both within their chosen religion and in this world).  Back in my day, Godparents undertook to be there if the child’s parents could not be at any time in the future, and, while some were aunts and uncles who the children grew up knowing, there would often be the Godparent who lost contact over the years.  

Now that we all live a bit longer, it occurs to me that many pensioners will still have godparents they only know about because they are mentioned in a christening record book that is nearly as old as we are. 

I recently chatted with my 40-something-year-old daughter and reminded her of who I chose years ago.  Her Godmother now lives alone and never had children of her own. After years of getting on with her busy life, I know that one more old lady is a little less lonely because she now makes time for a regular telephone catch-up with her Godmother despite all the other things a mum of three has to do. And, as old as I am, I have rediscovered my Godfather, who tells me he appreciates our chats.

I suppose I have written all this down because it occurs to me that, even though christenings are not as fashionable as they once were, there must be lots of older Godmothers and Godfathers in the world with Godchildren who may be able to turn those obligations that were made so many years ago round to the advantage of the older person in the relationship, if only the parents of those busy children jog their memories.  And finally, no matter how old you readers of this are, it might be worth looking up your long-lost Godparents.  They might still be around. 

MC, Croydon