This morning, the preacher was Dr Colin Luscombe, visiting Trinity for the first time. He has recently moved from Marlow and now attends Wallingford Methodist Church. He already knew Georgina from High Wycombe.
Before the service began, I announced the sad news that Christina Hutchinson had died. She had been choir mistress since 1988, contributed in many ways to church life, and reached the age of 97. I was steward and, after making that announcement, almost forgot to introduce Dr Luscombe!
People were curious to know whether he was a medical doctor or a scientist - it turned out to be the latter. His sermon focused on the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers, when only one returned to give thanks. Dr Luscombe linked it to the work of a leprosy mission in Nigeria, and spoke about the importance of gratitude — not only to God, but also to parents and others who have helped us. Many in the congregation no longer have living parents.
We didn’t know the second hymn, “Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus,” but it was easy to pick up. The final hymn, “Give Thanks,” fitted well. After the service there was, appropriately, a lot of thanking going on - people expressing appreciation for one another and the preacher.
Dr Luscombe spoke with many people afterwards. Ruth, whose hearing is poor, hadn’t been able to catch the sermon even though he spoke clearly. I need to try to get her a transcript. Rosemary, my fellow steward, said Ruth had arrived exhausted after walking nearly a mile - a feat for someone in her nineties. Rosemary gave her a lift back.