Before attending Great Sacred Music at St Martin in the Fields I picnicked in the balmy February sunshine at Trafalgar Square under the imposing and elegant statue of George IV.
He’s depicted on horseback in the style of a triumphant Roman emperor. All very impressive but even with a modicum of history it’s clear to any onlooker that the statue is all too flattering!
George IV was the infamous Prince Regent before he acceded to the throne. He was flamboyant and a lover of excess, famous for his appetite and womanising! His statue in Trafalgar Square probably says more about how he’d like to be remembered than the reality of his life.
I suppose he isn’t alone, but fortunately most of us won’t have the dilemma of having ourselves cast in bronze for eternity!
Last weekend a much loved and respected member of our congregation at AFC passed away. His death was sudden and has rather shocked us all. At evening service as the news was trickling through, our preacher began her sermon with a lovely tribute to him, saying that he and his wife would be remembered amongst us for their constant, generous and kind hospitality.
I suspect today, on Valentine’s Day, we are remembering such people. Folk who have no physical memorial to them, but whose memory lives on in our minds and makes our hearts glad.
One of my favourite hymns puts it like this:
For all the love that from our earliest days
has gladdened life and guarded all our ways,
we bring you, Lord, our song of grateful praise.
Alleluia.
A good day to sing such a hymn and remember such people.
ps: Blog holiday next week
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