Dear Friends,
John was an old man by the time I first knew him. He was the organist in my first church which only had a rather unreliable keyboard. He was in his late 80s and was very quiet, rushing off at the end of the service to play at another church, and he was a member of yet another church, so none of us knew very much about him. But he was always there and always willing, although it has to be said that sometimes after he had played the introduction to a hymn it was a bit like ‘Guess the tune and pick a note!’ But everyone loved him, and he was, always smiling, always happy.
It was only when his wife of 60+ years passed away that our little congregation began to learn a little more about his former life. and the fact as that he had been a prisoner of war and had worked on the Burma railway, and survived. He told us that he had somehow managed to smuggle a harmonium into the prison camp and played for worship every Sunday in the camp, and at other times. All this to help cheer his fellow prisoners. He said it was his music and his faith that had kept him going, and he wasn’t about to stop now.
At the age of 91 John passed away, and he was greatly missed. But the example of his faithfulness and his cheery smile, and the service he was able to give to the body of Christ in so many places, lives on as a lasting legacy to those who knew and loved him. And his story is a reminder that perhaps we should be asking ourselves what sort of a legacy we shall leave to those who come after us?
With love and blessings,
Marion
Categories: Minister's Blog