|
What a full day we had today! We left the hotel in Cambridge headed to the town of Olney, and the Olney Parish Church, with its impressive history and 200 foot spire. Elizabeth Knightly, trustee and historian, opened the church for us. Our group had its own worship service in the church where John Newton, who wrote the words to “Amazing Grace”, was pastor and where he is buried. Ms. Knightly told us the story of “Amazing Grace”, and we sang every verse of that wonderful hymn.
Leaving the Olney Parish Church, we walked a few blocks to the Sutcliff Baptist Church and met the pastor, who told us some of its history, which is part of our Baptist heritage. The pastor asked us to sing for him, and we chose “Every Time I Feel the Spirit”.
At 1:15, we left for London, arriving in the city at about 3:00. Some of us toured St. Paul’s Cathedral, while others did some shopping and sightseeing. We all met for the Evensong service at 5pm in St. Paul’s. From there, we took our coach to the Holiday Inn, and our last time with Darren, our driver. He and Adrian had already delivered our suitcases to our rooms. After bidding Darren farewell with gratitude, we freshened up and met in a private hotel dining room for a Group Farewell Dinner. What a warm and tender time we shared together. The meal was very good, but the fellowship we experienced was certainly the highlight of the day. After Stuart made sure we knew where to be, and when, for tomorrow, he thanked everyone for helping to make this trip happen.
Then he turned the floor over to Denise, Richard, Karen, Beverly, and Bill Carmichael, who sang a new and original version of “Poor Wayfaring Stranger”, that had us all in stitches! After that, Stuart opened the floor to all who wanted to share moments from the trip. We closed the evening with the Doxology, which has taken on a new significance and beauty for this writer.
|
|
Jan and Kay speak with a vendor at the Olney outdoor market, who asked about our group and the tour
|
London, the River Thames, and the Tower Bridge
|
