If Only I Could Remember This Day Forever 2


Church Times 3 today was beautiful.  We left at 8:30 to be there by 8:45 and were even earlier than that.  I just don't quite get traffic around here.  We met with the 2nd ward for sacrament meeting.  It is a very small ward, but so lovely, so spiritual and such kind members.

At 10:30, 1st Ward began their sacrament meeting.  It was ward conference today, and it was fun to have Dave and Deb walk in to be there for that meeting and for the 2nd hour Relief Society/Priesthood meeting.  They had to stay after those meetings were over to attend a meeting with the stake president.

SK and I came home about 1:30 and had a bite to eat.  Dave and Deb got back to our apartment around 3:30, and I fixed them a light snack...my usual go-to meal:  a quesadilla with green salsa and salad.  

After they finished eating, we walked over to Pembroke College again, to attend Evensong.  It was a worship service.  There was reading from the scriptures, choir numbers and then congregational recitations and singing.

The chapel itself was magnificent...built in 1629 or something like that.  Old old old and lined with wood paneling,  it was ornate and colorful.  

The Reverend proceeded with the program as outlined.  It was quiet, reverent, peaceful and altogether lovely.  It was a narrow room, lined on either side with two rows of benches, where we looked across the room at each other on the opposite and long sides of the room.

Most in attendance were LDS from Oxford First Ward.  The two readings from the Book of Mormon were given by Latter-day Saints, and the sermon was given by Diane Pritchett, a member of the ward also.  

It was inspiring and I thought the music also lifted you to much higher plains than I ever would have expected.

I loved the music, most of which was unknown to me  (except of course, the opening song, "Come Come Ye Saints).  It was a fascinating mix of the gospel and tenants from other religions.  It was so beautiful and inspiring.  I am putting pictures of the program on this blog .  I am also including the link to Elder Holland's experience in Oxford.  It has a couple of pictures to help you see what the inside of the building looked like.  Amazing!

https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2018-11-25/speaking-in-an-anglican-christmas-service-elder-holland-tells-of-his-fathers-death-christs-birth-6685








I wish I could bottle up the feelings as I watched and listened to all that happened today.  Even that little 1 hour we had together with Dave and Deb in this flat.  It was as memorable as the rest of the day, and I so hope that I will be able to remember it all.

Comments

melissa said…
How amazing to be in that for that experience.
October 29, 2019 at 9:24 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Master Teacher

In the 1st Ward today, an 11-year-old boy gave a talk that was one of he best sacrament meeting talks I have ever heard.  He got up to speak and his head just barely cleared the podium.  He is small and has a shock of dark hair topping a cute slightly freckled face. It will be several years yet before his voice deepens.  He had his written talk, and he read most of it, but he was familiar enough with it that he looked up often and it seemed as if he was speaking from his heart. He began with a quote from Nephi in 2 Nephi 25:29, where Nephi prophesies about the future and then tells us how to worship the Savior. How? this boy asked us. He went on to answer his own question.  Nephi says "with all our might."  The boy then asked how that is done. He cited the story of the converts in the Congo who threw all of their idols into a massive waterfall where they were unrecoverable.  The boy said that when we worship the Savior with all our might, that mea...
Read more

Going Home

  Fifteen missionaries are returning to their homes this week.  For this Saturday night zoom conference broadcast, each bore their testimony from their flats with their companions by their sides.  SK and I teared up many times as we listened to humble, sweet and strong testimonies.  It is easy to see the difference as they get close to their release date.  It they have been faithful, there is a maturity and a sweetness that is unexplainable. Here is a smattering of what was said: There is no growth in the comfort zone.  I am about to go home to my comfort zone...but it struck me that my old comfort zone is no longer comfortable for me.  I want to be in a growth zone. The early apostles did not succeed, but they knew we would. One elder quoted Dave's poem "If."  "If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same...Hold on...even through the hardest times."  "How can I accomplish these things?  Jesus Chr...
Read more

Shark!

Image
We left our flat way too early for my taste this morning, heading out to go south to Farnborough.  Forty-eight miles, supposedly an hour and twenty minute drive.  We got into some heavy stop and go traffic and it was closer to 2 hours before we got there. We inspected the two young sisters' flat, which was beautifully clean and organized.  They are cute sisters.  They had been in London yesterday for zone conference and excitedly shared all they had heard and been taught.  They had their notes out and were very cute to repeat some great messages from President Checketts.  I hardly ever talk to him when he isn't dealing with numerous issues in the mission and in the middle of at least one or two crises, and planning the next gathering....all at the same time.  It must be that he and Deb are in a constant state of stress.  But he has cleared the half-way mark.  I wonder if he knows how highly he is esteemed by these young missionaries, who ...
Read more