A great spirit of thanksgiving was present at LCBC on Sunday
- two services of giving thanks to God for all that Jeff and Hannah have done
for our church and its people during their 37 years of service here. Their contribution to the village, and to
mission both local and international, were also recognised. The church building was again bursting at the
seams for both morning and evening services.
In the morning Pastor Jeff gave the children's talk,
illustrating it with two recent gifts - a useful bowl made from a useless burr removed
from one of our lime trees
and a walking stick created from a briar found on the
Phoenix Trail
Gifts including flowers and a book of photos were presented.
There were contributions from Val, talking of the early
years of Jeff's ministry,
a powerful testimony from Peter,
and a sermon from Andrew Davies, who had preached at their
wedding and then at Jeff's induction at LCBC on 5th February 1977.
At the evening service there were more acknowledgements of
how good God has been to us in blessing
Jeff and Hannah's faithfulness to him:
Andrew Davies spoke again with memories of Jeff and Hannah before LCBC
Jane gave a moving testimony
Hannah spoke about her early plans for overseas
mission as a nurse, and how marriage to Jeff had brought her great involvement
in the wider mission field
Paddy made us laugh with his reflections on being Youth Worker for LCBC and his growth under Jeff's
guidance
And finally Pastor Steadman's sermon. You could have heard a
pin drop as he spoke of his early years and experiences at Long Crendon. (By the way he is emphasising not admonishing!)
After the service there were more celebrations with, of
course, cake!
lots of catching up......
plenty of hugs, laughter and a few tears.
It has been a weekend of mixed emotions - both thanksgiving
and sadness at the end of a long and much blessed pastorate - and we pray for Jeff
and Hannah every blessing in a long and happy retirement together.
To God be the glory, great things He has done!
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