July 2nd marks, almost unbelievably, the twentieth anniversary of my arrival at HPC to join the staff here and of my first sermon here following my ordination the previous day as an already elderly Deacon.
During the intervening years there have been innumerable assistants to our three organists, 9 [apart from myself] curates. 3 Area Bishops, 3 Vicars, 2 Parish Clerks but no partridge in a pear tree! Additionally, of course, there have been very numerous worshipping parishioners, some of whom have endured the full twenty year and are thankfully still with us, others of whom [also thankfully] have come and remained with us over shorter periods of time. Nor do I forget many other parishioners who have moved out of this area to some other area in this world or, sadly for us, to that country from whose bourn no traveller returns.
To all those people I wish to take this opportunity to extend my thanks for the great friendship and support given in different ways both to my wife and to myself over these many years. I was blessed indeed to be appointed to this Church in 1986 and blessed again to be able to remain with you in one capacity or another. Thank you all for that.
For the past four years I have been largely out at pasture having hung up my boots or, if you prefer, my cassocks sufficiently well that after preaching a month or so ago at Evensong a rare sermon, I was humorously upbraided by a member of that congregation for having broken an implied promise of four years ago not to preach here again!
What of the next 20 years? Well ….. I cannot tell; wars and rumours of wars continue throughout the world and climate change, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes also remind us daily of the uncertainties of human life and, indeed, of all life. One thing only is certain, that by the end of the next 20 years many of us here will have shuffled off this mortal coil. That must give us pause; like generations before us who have worshipped in this place or in previous churches which stood on this site, we shall pass on and become part of a past generation but we can hope, pray and expect that the word of God in Christ will still be strongly preached here [perhaps in new ways] and help our Lord to draw all men and women to Himself.
Derek Spottiswoode
Twenty Years On
Derek Spottiswoode