Geoff Hamilton, a regular speaker on the Methodist Church circuit was our speaker this afternoon. Below is a precis of some of the thoughts that Geoff shared with us.

Geoff’s reading was from Ecclesiastes 3 v 1-8, a very famous passage of scripture which if you can excuse the pun, is timeless and full of common sense.  Geoff explained that Ecclesiastes comes from the Greek word Ekklesiates meaning church or member of an assembly. Geoff reminisced how we used to have assemblies at school where the seed of faith was often planted in our minds and hearts.  What a shame there is so little time for that nowadays!

Geoff’s message was centred around the theme of ‘serendipity’ where “lovely things are discovered by accident.” The phrase was coined by Horace Walpole, writer and politician, who drew it from an English variation of the Persian fairy tale “The Three Princes of Serendip,” which was about three princes who always made discoveries that they were not looking for on their adventures. Three examples of this in history are:

1928 Alexander Fleming – penicillin
1945 Percy Spencer – the microwave
1968 Spencer Silver – the adhesive that led to Post-it notes

Geoff told the story of Philip Bliss, an American composer and writer of hymns who said, “preaching is important but music is the key to reaching people’s hearts!” That is true for so many people who came to faith through this medium. Philip’s upbringing emphasised faith and reverence towards God and he routinely credited God as the source of his lyrical and melodic inspiration which aligned with biblical doctrine. He wrote, ‘Hallelujah, what a Saviour’ and composed the music to ‘It is well with my soul’.

Geoff played a very early recording of our National Anthem which was written nearly 300 years ago.  Verse two is particularly poignant given what is happening in the political arena this very moment!  “Confound their politics, frustrate their knavish tricks, on Thee our hopes we fix!” We certainly need the Spirit of Truth to guide us and for God to come to our aid in these difficult times.

We listened to two lovely songs from Les Misérables. Geoff said that this musical has the power to bring grown men to tears – he has seen this on a number of occasions. The stage play has many references to prayer, Jesus, heaven, the Way of the Lord, salvation and even some biblical quotes and is an opportunity to hear the Word of the Lord. The ending is filled with hope: When Valjean dies, his passing isn’t sad and depressing; it’s celebratory and glorious! He is led into heaven by the bishop who showed him mercy – and by Fantine to whom he showed compassion. The lyrics sung during this scene state, “Take my hand / And lead me to salvation / Take my love / For love is everlasting / And remember the truth that once was spoken: / To love another person is to see the face of God. Geoff reminded us that God dwells in us if we love one another – 1 John 4 v 12

To finish, Geoff sung unaccompanied, ‘Only Remembered’ a song from the musical “War Horse,” which was originally sung in honour of Charles Spurgeon at his funeral.

For you to think about: Life is full of unexpected moments. These chance encounters may seem insignificant at first, but they often have the power to influence your life in surprising ways. So, keep your eyes open!