Greeting from Henley-in-Arden, England
Dear Friends,
We arrived safely on the 17th of January. We were met by two of the ladies from Henley Baptist Church. Both had contacted us while we were still in the states. Marion Dowding and Wendy Gregory are some of the leadership team at Henley Baptist Church. The first Sunday, we were allowed to just observe the service so we could learn how things are done in the UK. Last Sunday was my first official Sunday as pastor. I had to lead the entire worship. What I did was to announce the songs to be sung and then step away from the mic. One deacon in the church, Gordon Trinder, has a strong voice (he is also the town crier) and unofficially led the congregation in singing worship songs, while at his place in the pew. Then, I had the privilege to preach. The message was well received. On Sunday afternoon we went to a small church in the town of Hockley Heath (5 miles north of Henley). We went to encourage the folks there. I will preach there the next two Sunday afternoons. They are without a pastor. They do not have a Sunday morning service, only one at 4 PM. After the service we enjoyed coffee, tea, and snacks.
Our church has a coffee and scones (biscuits) or biscuits (cookies) on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. The church has been doing this for over 30 years. The coffee on Wednesday morning is well attended by the community. Any money made from the sale of the coffee and scones is used for mission work. Nadine and I get to meet a lot of town people who come for the market and stop by for coffee or tea. Saturdays attendance is mostly church folks. We are busy getting acquainted with folks in the church. We have visited in the homes of several of the folks. The other day, while was out doing my morning walk, I met several folks from the church. It was almost like going to Walmart and seeing so many people from the Mount.
We have been out touring the area as well. Stratford upon Avon (Shakespear’s home town) is only 7 miles to the south. We do our grocery shopping there. Driving on the left side of the road is always a challenge. I am getting better with roundabouts. Nadine reminds me to get in the proper lane. We drove down to Stow on the Wold last Friday. It is a lovely town about 35-40 miles south and in the midst of the Cottswolds. The name, Stow on the Wold, (according to Rick Steves) means ‘meeting place on the uplands’. We had lunch, went into many of the shops and enjoyed our day. There were supposed to be some stocks on the green. I wanted to put Nadine in them and go about my visit, but I couldn’t find them.
On Mondays we meet with Marion (the church pianist/organist) and plan the worship service for the next Sunday. We enjoy this time wth Marion as we discuss the songs that will compliment the message and the other parts of the service. The English people enjoy singing to the Lord and they have many, many songs that we do not sing in the US. The church has a web site and I encourage you to check it out. It is www.henleybaptist.org.uk.
More next time,
Blessings to you all,
Dick and Nadine Harmon
